


sweet dreams (are made of this)

by pocketfullofdaisies



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Abuse of Authority, Alternate Universe - Corporate, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Office, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Arguing, Ben Solo is a Mess, Ben is 31 Rey is 21, Betrayal, Boss/Employee Relationship, Both need hugs, But Yes I'm working to a Happily Reylo Ever After ❤️, Canon Compliant Age Difference, Dark with a side of fluffy, Devoted Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Dirty Talk, Dominant Ben Solo, Dominant Kylo Ren, Dubious Consent, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Manipulation, Emotional Sex, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Enemies to Lovers, Eventual Armitage Hux/Rose Tico, Eventual GingerRose, Excessive Drinking, Excessive smoking, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Fighting, Gaslighting, Gonna be an emotional train wreck as they fall in love, Hurt/Comfort, Intense confrontations, Just so many types of sex lol, Loss of Parent(s), Lots of swearing and foul mouths, Minor Daddy and Baby Girl kink, Minor Sugar Daddy Sugar Baby, Minor drug and alcohol dependence, Misunderstandings, Murder, Mutual Pining, Not Beta Read, Older Man/Younger Woman, Ongoing coping struggles, Passionate Sex, Possessive Ben Solo, Possessive Kylo Ren, Possessive Sex, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Power Imbalance, Praise Kink, Protective Ben Solo, Protective Kylo Ren, Psychological Trauma, Revenge, Rey is a Mess (Star Wars), Rough Sex, Sexual Tension, Size Difference, Size Kink, Slap Slap Kiss, Strong themes of, Tension drama suspense, They are just two people learning how to love each other, Trust Issues, Unhappy Childhood, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, also with lots of issues, and a little promiscuous, breakup angst, good girl kink, with lots of issues
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-01
Updated: 2020-09-29
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:28:49
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 32,471
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25013197
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pocketfullofdaisies/pseuds/pocketfullofdaisies
Summary: “What’s your intention here?” Ben pulls her back to reality.“What else could it be for?” Rey shoots back angrily. “Money of course. I actually have life obligations to manage. Not everyone is born with a silver spoon up their ass like you!”“You’re quite a coarse little brat, aren’t you?” His eyes darken. “What I wouldn’t give to teach you some manners.”When Rey accepts a compromising arrangement with her new boss, Ben Solo, offering her everything she needs, she becomes increasingly emotionally and physically drawn to him. But who is he really? And what is his connection to her parents’ unsolved deaths?
Relationships: Armitage Hux & Rose Tico, Armitage Hux/Rose Tico, Kylo Ren & Rey, Kylo Ren/Rey, Kylo Ren/Rey/Ben Solo, Poe Dameron & Finn, Poe Dameron/Finn, Rey & Ben Solo, Rey & Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Rey/Kylo Ren/Ben Solo
Comments: 296
Kudos: 516





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi lovely humans! 
> 
> Attempting to do a drama-suspense-mystery type of story for our space kids (thrown in with smut…obviously). This is inspired by AD’s Hungry Hearts (2014) & Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl (2012) with some warped features of Pretty Woman (1990) lol. Some of the consultancy corporate setting here is **specifically tailored** to fit the story. 
> 
> **REMINDER:** As per the tags, this fic will touch highly divisive topics such as minor drug & alcohol dependence, power imbalance (particularly because Ben is in an obvious position of authority as her boss), serious dub-con and potentially unhealthy & manipulative behaviours in general and within a relationship. As always, this is dark-ish with a side of fluffy! 
> 
> Stay happy, healthy and safe—enjoy and let me know what you think! ❤️
> 
> Title of the fic: [Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8bj8ZlO8L0) cover by Emily Browning (Sucker Punch OST)
> 
> PS: Thank you to my friend for editing the moodboard!
> 
> Sources:  
> [Colossus](http://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Colossus)  
> [Hosnian Prime](http://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Hosnian_Prime)  
> [Enric Pryde](http://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Enric_Pryde)

* * *

Finally—

It’s the last interview with the Head of Human Resources, Amilyn Holdo, and Rey’s head is about to explode if she doesn’t get this job. This pays the lowest among everywhere else she’s applied, but fuck it—she’s already received six rejections this past week. If this becomes another, she’s inclined to start swearing aloud.

"Very impressive. You’ve done quite a bit of service work with vulnerable communities. Some weekend tutoring sessions for underprivileged kids," and she looks up from Rey’s file. "I think you’d be great in the Corporate Financing team for now."

Rey nods quickly. "Okay. I can work with that."

Amilyn tosses back her brilliant violet hair. "They’re a younger crowd. I can see you adapting into that, and their focus is more aligned with your personality."

"Are there other alternatives?" Rey asks.

"We also have Corporate Audit & Tax Planning, but I know you’re not keen on that route. A similar Advisory department is Corporate Restructuring, Mergers and Acquisitions—" and Amilyn shakes her head, "—but I think you’ll fit better with Gial Ackbar’s team right now." She softens her gaze. "Before we proceed, I believe you’re aware we’re unable to offer you a permanent position at this time?"

Rey nods again. She just needs the money anyway, and she’s used to this; blending in, quietly floating through life and minding her own business. A fleeting shadow.

A survivor.

" _Excellent_. We’ll sign you on as a contract staff for a starting six-months. You aren’t formally hired by any team at this point, so if you find yourself interested in other work, you can diversify. We encourage all our interns and contract staff to rotate as much as possible. Just so you can make the most of your experience with us."

And she extends her slender arm to Rey for a handshake—

"Welcome on-board to the Hosnian Prime Consulting Group."

* * *

When Rey sees him for the first time, it’s her second week in office and she’s dozing off just before lunch hour.

Both hands in his pockets, he strides across the department looking outrageously tall and moody. A stern, elder man with greying hair walks beside him, and when they sweep past her table, she takes in the way he runs his absurdly large hands through his sable hair. He has oddly striking features that she can’t seem to place. He actually looks a little… _unusual_? Another trails behind them; a pale and lanky red-head with a sharp facial structure, and despite him being pretty decent looking, he was a complete prick when she tripped into him the previous week. She remembers him stumbling back, utterly _disgusted_ —

"Jerk," Rey muttered, nodding curtly at him as he walks by, irritated by the memory. _Choke on your pretentious salad bowl and lemon detox water, you f_ —

"Who me?" a voice interjects from behind.

Rey swivels her chair around to face Rose Tico and Finn Isaac. While she’s always been naturally wary of forming friendships with co-workers, she’s made an exception for these two managers, and for the most part, they’re pretty chill. She flashes her megawatt smile. "Never you."

"Who then?"

"Just some unfriendly red-head."

Rose grins. "You’re talking about Hux, right?"

"Is that his name?"

"Well—he’s the only cute ginger on the floor that terrorises the innocents. That’s Armitage Hux for you," and she smiles. "Don’t let it get to you. He’s got a pole up his ass since forever. Never nice to anyone."

"Except those who matter," Finn rolls his eyes and gestures to the door. "Lunch?"

***

"How're you settling in?" Rose asks as they sit down in the office cafeteria a few floors above.

"All good," Rey bites down on her chicken wrap. "No complaints."

"I notice you don’t really hang out with the other associates," Finn says.

It sounds more like a question, if anything. Rey shrugs, but says nothing. Being honest and admitting she’s not here to make friends because she wants to fuck off from this job as soon as possible—might not go down so well.

Rose pours some juice into a cup. "I know it seems a little slow now, but things can crop up from nowhere and then it’s all hands-on deck. And believe me—when Poe _needs_ people to work, he’ll be cracking that whip."

Finn clears his throat awkwardly which Rey unintentionally notices.

"You _could_ tell me more on how the department works," Rey says. "Orientation was mostly HR stuff. Pretty standard and useless."

Rose slaps her forehead. " _Right_. Sorry. Been so caught up in closing a file that I completely forgot to give you a team breakdown." She unfolds a napkin and snatches a pen from Finn’s breast pocket, slowly drawing out a map of names. "Just a general overview on who’s who. Our division Director is Gial Ackbar, but you’ll rarely deal with him. He’s quite hands-off and Poe’s usually the one presenting the final draft for sign-off," and she looks up. "You know Poe Dameron, obviously?"

"He’s the number two, right?"

"Pretty much," Rose nods. "He’s Assistant Director and will take the lead if Ackbar’s not around. Finn and I are managers, so you’ll be working more with us on our projects. We have a couple of other associates and assistants, but that’s roughly the key people in our area."

"What do you have for the rest of the week?" Finn asks. "Need me to pass you stuff to kill time?"

"Poe says he’s got something for me after lunch," Rey chews her food thoughtfully. "And I have an introduction meeting scheduled for tomorrow with the Advisory directors."

" _Both_ directors?" Rose’s eyes widened.

"Should be," Rey looks puzzled at the response. "It’s really just to say hello and introduce ourselves. Amilyn will be there with other new joiners."

Finn gives a low, long whistle. "So—you’re gonna be meeting _boss_ , huh?"

"Director Ackbar?"

"No," Finn grimaces. "B.O.S.S."

"You say it like it means something else," Rey raises an eyebrow. "I’m clearly not getting it?"

"I think what he means is—you’re meeting Benjamin Organa-Skywalker Solo," Rose says. "He’s the director of Restructuring and M&A."

"Problem?"

Rose shrugs. "Honestly? He’s quite a dick. Tons of his associates cry all the time in the ladies. Sometimes all at once. Not cool. They block _all_ the cubicles while they’re at it."

"And he makes the dudes weep too," Finn grins. "You _might_ have seen him today. Just got back from a two-week financial conference. Huge, angry-looking fella."

 _That must have been him_ , Rey thinks, and the image of his broad frame strolling across the floor comes back to mind. Why the hell does he have such a ludicrously long, snobbish name? She stifles a laughter at the absurdity of it forming Finn’s acronym.

Rose snorts. "He’s not very approachable. In fact, that entire department isn’t the friendliest. Only Phasma seems alright, but I think that’s because Finn was her intern."

"Only for a couple of months, but when Poe told me there’s an opening in his team, I made a run for it," and Finn shudders. "Listen, don’t get me wrong. She’s a beautiful, smart woman, but _shit_ —an absolute fucking menace to work with."

Rey tilts her head. "I think I saw him with Hux and someone a little older."

"Oh, that’s Enric Pryde," Rose says. "An old-timer like Ackbar. A few years ago, there was a _huge_ scandal when he was dismissed for the director role after Solo was brought in. Rumour is that Solo’s some protégé of the company’s biggest shareholder. He _just_ turned thirty last year, so pretty much the youngest person in a leadership role _ever_."

"Yeah," Finn pops some peanuts into his mouth. "Pryde’s supposed to be the number two in that division. Just like Poe is to Ackbar. But we all know Hux took that spot. That’s just a shitty position to be in for the old guy. Feel kinda bad for him."

" _And_ I recently heard Solo’s made partner as well," Rose wiggles her eyebrows.

"Fuck, seriously?" Finn’s mouth drops. " _Damn_. Means he's getting a share of the company’s profits too."

"Not all directors are partners?" Rey asks.

"Nope. Only a few, and they’ve usually been around for ages."

While Rey nods idly at the conversations, she couldn’t deny she’s vaguely intrigued.

"—but _really_ , Rose," Finn continues to shrug. "It’s all down to who you know. Solo’s obviously very well connected, coming from some crazy rich background. Think his family are public figures or something."

"Alright, Finn. We’re gossiping _way_ too much. Rey obviously doesn’t give a shit about office politics."

* * *

Poe makes good on his promise and drops a heavy file onto Rey’s desk ten minutes after lunch hour ends. "I know you haven’t really got your hands dirty yet," and he leans over her cubicle. "So, I want you to tell me if I’ve missed something here."

"What am I looking at?" Rey asks.

"The target company is looking to be acquired and subsequently restructured by a potential new owner, so this file _really_ belongs to Solo’s team," and he bites his lip. "But I happen to know an old friend in the target, and he reached out for advice. They’ve got quite a number of work shelved because of this takeover, causing a bit of internal problems, so they’re asking if funding is still possible at this stage based on their project pipeline. Just so they can delay the business from being sold a little while more."

She feels nervous. "Is this right? That we’re taking this file after another team has looked into it?"

He shrugged. "This was signed off by Hux. He’s waiting for the go ahead, but since Solo _just_ came back today, figured we might still have time to look at it again." He raps on her table gently. "No pressure here. I’ve already run through, but I just want a fresh pair of eyes."

When Poe walks away, Rey smooths the file open.

***

She actually finishes up late this time.

It takes her six hours to work through the documents and the final report before she hands it back to Poe. Most had already left for the day, so the office was relatively dark. She spies Finn hanging around in the breakroom with a coffee while Poe was still working in his cubicle.

"Financing is an option then?" Poe’s eyes gleam after she reiterates her findings. 

"That’s your call, but the inconsistency I mentioned could cause potential audit issues next quarter if we're to go ahead as lead advisor on the restructuring approach. I personally don’t think that irregularity was intentionally ignored. Very easy thing to overlook. Could be a genuine error."

"Fucking fantastic!" he exclaims. "I _knew_ it was a good idea to get you on-board. I’ve been way too jaded lately."

She gives a contented thumbs up. "No worries. If there’s nothing else, I’ll be heading off."

He nods and waves her away. "See you tomorrow, champ."

* * *

Rey turns the key to her apartment and pushes the door open. Her roommate, Kaydel Ko Connix is in front of the TV as she balances in a bizarre yoga pose, her blonde hair pulled back into a bun.

"How’s second week coming along?" Kaydel calls out. 

"Fine," Rey says, dropping her bag and opening the fridge. "Uninteresting."

Kaydel senses her tone and immediately shifts from her position to sit up, stretching herself. She makes her way over to Rey who opens a pack of chips on the kitchen table. "Hey—I appreciate you taking up the job to help with the rent," and she places a hand over Rey’s arm. "I know this wasn’t the _dream_ job, but it means the world to me."

Rey’s smile doesn’t reach her eyes. "Don’t mention it. Just glad I found something. Even if it’s not paying that great right now."

"Because you’re on contract?"

"Uh-huh. Something like a six-months’ probation."

"Did they say when they’ll convert you?"

"When someone leaves or gets their ass fired, I guess."

"Hang in there," and Kaydel ruffles her hair.

"Doesn't matter. Not gonna stick around that long. Maybe a year or two at the most, until I get enough savings. Still got some leftover in my college loan to pay-off too."

"Right. Did you try to be more social this time?"

Rey sticks her tongue out. "I’m always sociable."

" _Sure_. Like the hermit you were throughout school and college? Hiding up in your room with books and model planes?"

Rey pouts. "Don’t hate on the planes. They’re my little reminders that one day I’ll be able to fly far, _far_ away from all this crap—save for you, obviously."

Kaydel’s expression softens. "Still on about running away?"

"Fucking off? Yeah, I’d like to call it escapism," and Rey shakes her head. "There’s nothing here for me, Kay. Just things that I want—I _need_ to forget. We grew up together since we were five, so I’m weirdly lucky that I had your parents to take me in after that you-know-what—" and she swallows, "—happened before college." They fall silent for a moment before Rey sighs. "Just need a chance to build some new memories, huh? And not have to come back to reality for a while."

"Any ideas for where you might go?"

"I had some family back in England _ages_ ago. I could try looking them up?" and Rey grins. "I’ll leave some rent money behind for my share though. So, _please_ don’t throw my stuff out."

They laugh when Kaydel gives her a playful punch.

* * *

In the morning, Rey senses she’s in trouble when Dopheld Mitaka, the Business Administrator for Solo’s division points out Rey to Hux, whose face is pulled into a nasty glower, his ears colouring in anger like his distinguishable mane.

Poe is quick to intervene. "Now, _now_ ," his voice is taunting. "Don’t make this personal, _Hugs_. This was assessed fairly, and we can all agree that nothing’s more important than the company’s integrity in the way we do business."

" _Fuck off_ , Dameron!" Hux snarls. "I sent a team down to the target for two months to do scoping work. Now it’s fucking wasted!"

Rey’s nerves hum as a growing crowd began to rise from their seats, watching the spectacle unfold. One of the few things she's always hated is getting singled out. She’s so on edge by the fight unravelling before her that she jumps when someone touches her shoulder.

Amilyn beams down at her. "Morning, Rey. Shall we?"

She almost sprints out of the department, scrambling behind Amilyn who asks, "What was that about?"

Rey smiles nervously. "Not sure," but her nostrils flare up from the fib.

They take the elevator all the way up to the conference rooms where three other associates are already waiting. Amilyn leads them through the corridor until they push the doors open to a large space that has floor-to-ceiling windows, a long meeting table at the centre, and a coffee and tea section against the wall. Rey immediately recognises the seasoned Director Ackbar sitting at the table, nodding kindly as they walk in.

"Everyone—it’s a pleasure to introduce you to the leadership team," Amilyn begins. "Some of you may already be familiar with one another, but for consistency, we’ll start with the pleasantries again. This gentleman sitting here is Director Gial Ackbar of the Corporate Financing division. He’s been with the company for over thirty years, so he has a wealth of industry knowledge which I strongly implore you take advantage of." She pauses, glancing around the room before gesturing to the left at a large sofa set that Rey hadn’t noticed before.

And she sees _him_ there, sprawled across on his back with an arm crossed over his eyes.

"And that gentleman in the corner is Director Benjamin Solo of the Corporate Restructuring and M&A division. He's our youngest lead, but he’s singlehandedly turned his division profitable within twelve months of taking over. He gives very detailed project assessments, so if you’re up for the challenge and he can spare the time, you may submit reports for him to evaluate." When Solo doesn’t move, Amilyn shakes her head like a disapproving parent and nods for them to start the introductions.

Naturally, Rey opts to go last, struggling to think of something to say in three lines or less, so she can quickly obliterate this painful social requirement. At her turn, Rey clears her throat. "Hello. My name is Rey Ridley—"

Without warning, Solo—who hadn’t stirred a single inch since they entered the room— _instantly_ lifts the forearm from his eyes, turning his head towards her.

"—I’m twenty-one, so this is really my first corporate job after college. I have no material field experience in advisory, but I’m willing to work hard. Always been a quick learner. I’ve no issues with adapting to any environment that’s required of me."

Her heart skips a beat as Solo is now sitting up on the sofa. Leaning forward. Listening.

"—started two weeks ago as a contract staff. Currently attached to work with Assistant Director Poe Dameron’s team at this time."

And her stomach churns when he stands up from the sofa to stretch.

"—but very happy to help out and learn from other teams on the floor." 

"Warmest welcome to the team, Rey!" Ackbar says. "I was _just_ talking about you with Mister Dameron in the morning. Excellent work with the Colossus file." He turns to Solo, who must have crossed the room at some point because he’s now standing where Ackbar is seated. "My sincerest apologies, Benjamin. I hope you won’t take offense that you’ll be losing that file. As I understand, Mister Hux was working very hard on that project."

"None taken," Solo responds calmly, his eyes never leaving her.

_Oh wow—_

Rey flinches. His voice is deeper than she expected—low and deliciously rich, almost needing to pinch herself to snap out of it. Amilyn’s voice seemed so far away during the concluding remarks, signalling the end of the session.

Solo is coming off _extremely_ rude. Staring at her so blatantly with an intensity she’s inexperienced with, and she looks back with a perplexed frown, studying him at his full height, looming above everyone else with an intimidating quality. When Ackbar makes his way to the other associates, Solo links his arms behind him, carefully walking towards her. She’s reminded of a nature documentary episode she saw the other night. A predator circling its prey, deliberately measured and slow, and she’s the deer getting ready to bolt—

—but standing directly before her now, his presence is strangely breathtaking. She sees him even sharper this time; his pale skin starkly contrasted against his dark waves, deep-set brown eyes with flecks of green, paintbrush specks of moles and beauty marks, a distinctive nose, a soft jawline and exceptionally full lips that should _really_ be more on a woman than—

"The girl I've heard so much about," he quirks an eyebrow, briefly sizing her up. "It’s Miss Ridley, is it?"

"Uh-huh. Yeah." _Smooth._

"What’s your first name again?"

"Rey."

"Ray? Like Raymond?" and his eyes glint in amusement.

 _Ha-bloody-ha_. Such a classic playground insult. Nothing that she hasn’t got used to since she was a kid. She wrinkles her nose. "Rey spelled with an e."

He tilts his head downwards, looking at her more intently. "You’re the one who found what Hux and Dameron didn’t in the Colossus file?" 

"Yes?"

" _You_?" he repeats again, his tone bordering contemptuous. "A contractor that’s fresh off college?"

Rey felt her skin prickle in fury. What the _fuck_ was that supposed to mean? She’s always been tough throughout her life, rarely reacting over pointless juvenile teasing, but his words are somehow making her teeth grit. He's pissing her off and it's making her all the angrier for it. She refuses to dignify his stupid comment with a response, so she shuts her mouth, forcing out a tight smile instead.

"You have a very pleasing accent," he unexpectedly says.

 _Huh?_ Rey frowns in confusion. "I'm sorry? I didn't catch—"

"I could just listen to you all day," he murmurs, leaning in closer.

_What?_

His gaze burns right into hers. He’s so near that she can smell his cologne; a dazzling concoction of fresh pine and musk. He smells masculine. Like a— _a man_? She blinks at him, speechless as she comprehends what she’s just heard a complete stranger say to her. He didn’t know her. She didn’t know him. She should recoil from his potentially cryptic statement to her, especially at a workplace. _Is he some sick, creepy boss that targets unsuspecting young girls?_ she wonders—

But she doesn’t move.

Instead, she feels messed up and dizzy.

"Benjamin—" Ackbar’s voice shatters the intensity between them. "You done here? I’d like to discuss the transfer of the Colossus project to ensure a smooth transition for the client."

Solo abruptly straightens up, smiling amiably. "It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Ridley. I look forward to working with you more closely." He reaches out his lengthy arm to her, and in an almost trancelike sequence, she allows him to take her hand, his hefty palm completely engulfing her own. Her consciousness seems to cloud, and it’s only after she’s back in the elevator that she realises—

His thumb had subtly brushed atop her skin as they shook hands. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to the obligatory chapter where co-workers get drunk and do dumbass things!  
> But jokes aside, it is **always important** to know your limits to have a responsible safe night out.
> 
> Enjoy lovelies! ❤️

Rey finds herself busier than ever. Since pulling that stunt with the Colossus file, Poe’s roped her into various projects with both Rose and Finn—till she was working on at least three different engagements a week, and coupled with the occasional visits to the target’s offices, she’s totally beat by the time she’s home.

It’s two months into the job when she realises, she’s never _really_ encountered Ben Solo again.

At least, not in the same close proximity as before. She’s seen him drift across the floor a few times, but he’d storm straight into his office, slamming the door behind him. She learns quickly that he’s a demanding workaholic with a mercurial temper, and she’d do well to stay away when he’s in one of his moods. If he wasn’t around, he’d be off somewhere assessing prospective projects or attending external events.

He _did_ —unfortunately—follow through his last comment for collaborating more, handing her files from his division, which Poe obviously wasn’t thrilled about. But for reasons unknown, Ben’s oddly decided not to directly interact with her, kindly making the constipated looking Mitaka the middleman in moving the documents back and forth between them. His only form of communication is through repetitive, impersonal emails and ridiculous yellow post-its, stating only three things; summary of the project, what he needs from her and the deadline. She's also unintentionally noticed his handwriting mannerisms could almost pass as calligraphy, and while simply stunning, there's an undeniable tinge of neurotic perfectionism.

What a weirdo.

At some point, Rey began to wonder if she'd imagined it all.

He’s never once acknowledged her when they crossed-paths—even after practically assaulting her with intense stares and sharing a curiously intimate handshake. And what was up with that comment about her voice? She's smart enough not to share this experience with anyone, and while Finn and Rose did initially ask for details, the uproar from Hux over losing the Colossus account to them is a _far_ juicier lunch gossip.

No. This is definitely something to be kept with her own skeletons.

Rey has always been good at being an island.

* * *

“Drinks on me tonight!” Poe shouts on a Friday evening as they close another deal.

Rey knows she doesn’t have a choice to back out this time. Poe's been going on for weeks about having a traditional ‘rookie welcome drinks’ for the newbies. She was _so_ looking forward to get into a shower, pop in her music and paint some model planes. She just got a new one a couple of days back, much to Kaydel’s chagrin, and is dying to rip right into it—

“ _Champ_!” Poe bellows across the floor. “You’re not going anywhere!” and he motions to Finn to ensure she doesn’t move a muscle to start packing up.

Oh well. Thankfully, the chosen bar is just a couple of blocks away from the office. If she's gunning for them to hire her permanently, she’d be foolish to think that forced social events weren’t necessary.

Just one quick drink wouldn’t hurt.

***

“Fucking Fri-yay!” Rose squeals. She slides more drinks towards them in one of the booths. They clink their glasses together and grumble about what a crap week it’s been. Rey finds herself settling _too_ easily into the somewhat mundane routine of working life. She peeks at her phone to keep track of time. They’ve been drinking for over two hours now, but Poe didn’t look like he’s allowing anyone to leave just _yet_.

“ _So_ —" Finn slurs. "What’s it like working with Solo?”

Ah. Here it comes. Rey feigns an innocent look.

“Don’t try that, peanut. We know you’ve been doing files for him too,” Finn waggles his finger carelessly. “Must be fucking shit like everyone says.”

“What does everyone say?”

“I did some work for him last year. Remember?” Rose shudders. “He must've returned the files like, maybe close to twenty times? Crossing off almost every damn thing, including giving a long list of what I _didn’t_ do, and everything that I _did_ do, but was irrelevant. Went through ten fucking drafts before he gave the greenlight.”

Finn hiccups. “ _Damn_ , girl. Thought it was only me and the associates he hated. Guess the man’s just destined to fuck everyone up. The Solo way or no way!” And Rose and Finn burst into laughter, clumsily smashing their drinks together.

Rey swirls the ice in her glass awkwardly. Ben hasn't given back a single file that she’s worked on. There are no such notes. No trace of written feedback or reprimanding lists for her. She takes a big gulp of her drink, hoping they wouldn’t circle back on the question again. She feels—well, a little bothered and confused by his— _this_ differential treatment. And _why_ does he ignore her in office? She's seen him speaking to others in his division, and given she's _somewhat_ working for him too, shouldn't he show some basic social skills towards those who slave away for him?

Poe pushes his way through the booth, clapping Rey on her back and disrupting her thoughts. “ _Listen_ —spoke to Amilyn today. Told her what a fucking asset you are for the team,” and he flashes his charismatic grin. “Once the approval’s in, we’re gonna be offering you a fixed position in the next few days. How’s that sound?” She thinks she hears Poe mumble under his breath, “And you can _finally_ stop working for fucking Solo.”

Rey chortles, nodding exuberantly. “Sounds great, boss. Won’t let you down.”

Poe’s one of those traditionally handsome guys she’d meet; gorgeous smile, shaggy brown hair and a manly stubble. Given he’s also easy-going, accessible and the type of supervisor she wouldn’t hesitate to follow, this is a no-brainer. It's so fucking _perfect_ and everything she could ever want to make this job easier. Just hearing this news from him made her heart soar up high—

But maybe a little _too_ high.

She started losing count of the drinks. Pretty soon, she's stumbling to the bar for water, swearing profusely as the floor sways below her feet. She hasn't drank this much in ages, so it slipped her mind just how shit her tolerance is. She yanks her phone from her bag, wondering if she should dial Kaydel to pick her up before she makes a bigger ass of herself.

“Hey!” a voice she doesn’t recognise calls out. “All good?”

Rey looks up to see one of the associates on the floor, Beaumont Kin. She knows there are a few on the floor who gives her _looks,_ and whether it's out of curiosity from her excellent work, or for other reasons, she’s still uneasy. “Yeah—yep, yes, all good,” and she attempts to wave him off.

“Need help getting home?” he offers a little too easily.

Rey shakes her head ineptly. “No, _no_ , I’m good. I—I’ve got someone coming.”

“Easy there,” Beaumont grins. “One for the road, then? My treat.”

“Uh…” and she abruptly steps back when he comes closer.

“Hey, hey, hey— _hey_ , watch out!” he shouts, but he reaches out for her too late, and her spine slams into a nearby bar table, tipping over their drinks. There are shrill screams, a startled yell and the sounds of glasses rolling off, crashing spectacularly into the floor.

 _Fuck, fuck, fuck, not good, not good._ “ _Shit_ , sorry, sorry!” Rey exclaims, turning around—

“Rey?”

She freezes, staring up at Ben Solo—a cigarette in his hand with the other stuffed in his pocket, standing at the table with the overturned drinks. He arches an eyebrow, calmly examining her face and her cheeks immediately burn. Hux is right next to him with his impeccable coiffed hair, clearly livid from the carnage she’s just made. Rey catches sight of their lady companions attempting to clean the cocktail splotches off their clothes. _Did he…just call me Rey?_ her thoughts swim.

Unbothered by the commotion she caused, Ben stubs his cigarette and towers over her. "Are you drunk? You’re all red."

 _Who the fuck do you think you are and why should I answer you?_ Rey’s ready to start shouting. That’s what she _wants_ to say honestly, but numbly finds herself mumbling instead, “No. Maybe? Or just a little…”

“You alone?” he asks.

“Sorry for the mess, Director Solo,” Beaumont’s voice babbles beside her, his fingers moving to her elbow. “She’s with us."

And Ben gives Beaumont the _strangest_ look, his neck recoiling faintly while squinting. As if a tiny bacterium had tried to start a conversation with him. His eyes flick for a second to her arm, and even in her dazed state, she could have sworn he’s frowning at Beaumont’s grip. Ben glances over her shoulder, noticing Poe, Rose, Finn and a number of others sitting at the back booths yelling with a wild session of alcoholic-driven games.

“Thank you, but I’ll manage. Good night,” Ben finally responds, blunt and terse. He competently tugs her out of Beaumont’s grasp, and as he turns around, his considerable frame circles around hers, cutting off any further exchange.

“ _Seriously_?” Hux groans. “You’re fucking leaving in the middle of this?”

“Just take the ladies and head out. Meet you at the lounge later," and Ben peers down at Rey, curling an arm around her waist, steadying her. She’s still tripping and swaying, and while she fucking hates herself for being so helpless, his hold on her feels surprisingly... _nice_.

 _Very_ nice.

“You have all your belongings?”

Rey blinks, her vision starting to blur, “Uh-huh…”

“Need to tell anyone you’re leaving?” he asks, pointing his chin towards the same group in the back.

Rey shakes her head insistently. _No, please no._ Everyone is completely sloshed, and probably wouldn’t notice her absence. She’ll drop Finn or Rose a text later, because the last thing she needs is to be pulled into another round. Or worse—them seeing her clinging onto Ben. Just thinking about it makes her feel sick. She’s strangely protective of this unusual relationship they shared. Like a dirty little secret just for herself. He nods at her response, but when he tries leading her out, like a natural klutz, she stumbles again.

“Can you walk? If you can’t that’s fine. Just tell me.”

 _Why is he being so_ … _so..._ _so what_? she thinks, alcohol swirling in her brain—

But she hesitates too long and the floor drops away, startling her when Ben scoops her up, cradling her against his chest with ease. Her heart pounds in her ears as his wonderful scent hits her again. She’s so far gone that she discovers something new. She doesn’t _mind_ being carried in public, despite all the attention it's attracting.

Or maybe because it's _him_ , and she's become a moth to his flame.

“I—I can pay for an Uber. I j-just need to book one,” Rey stutters, but Ben ignores her. She can just about make out the shape of a large, black luxury MPV parked out at the front. A short man steps out, waving them over as he clicks for the automatic passenger door to slide open.

“Evening, Benjamin,” and the voice pauses. “Are we done for the night and returning to the loft?”

“Need to send this little lady back to her own place, Artoo,” and she feels Ben settle her on a seat, buckling her up. “Drop me at the usual lounge after. Not done yet.” He reclines the backrest for her and she begins to drift in and out, mumbling about how she could still make her way home. How he didn’t know where she lives. How she’s absolutely _fine_. In her drowsy state, she thinks she hears Ben say, “Number fifteen on Jakku Street.”

 _Can’t be_ , she thinks. No _fucking_ way. He couldn’t possibly know her place. That’s crazy!

They must have arrived at some point, feeling a blast of hot air when the passenger door opens. Someone rummages through her bag and she’s swept up in his arms again. At the main entrance, she listens to Ben give various instructions to Artoo before carrying her up the stairs to the second floor, her keys jingling as her apartment’s front entry is shoved open.

 _Please, please, please let Kaydel be sleeping_ , Rey begs weakly.

“I’ll take it from here,” Ben says to Artoo. “Wait out front.”

The apartment is pitch-black, except for the tiny light in their kitchen which Kaydel usually leaves on, so Rey doesn’t stub her toe during a midnight snack run. She could tell he's pausing, gauging where her room might be. He crosses the living room, quietly pushing against her half-open door, to place her sitting up on her bed. The dim bedside lamp clicks on, her eyes squeezing shut from the sudden surge of light.

“Feeling okay?” she sees him through the haze, leaning in to her. Her surroundings are still revolving, her body tipping backwards and forwards at the same time. “Need something to eat? Something to drink?”

She shakes her head, shivering when his hand pushes back the strands of hair sticking to her forehead. He crouches, slipping out her heels and small ankle socks. Why was he behaving so—so _caring_ to her? If she wasn’t so drunk, she’d probably confront him, yelling like the feral tempered girl she’s always been. But alcohol has a funny way to soothe her moods. 

“Cosy place,” he muses, throwing a cursory glance around the darkness of her bedroom. She scowls back, unable to form an adequate retort to his comment. Is he making fun of her again?

“I’ll show myself out. I notice your front door has an auto-lock, so I assume I won’t need the keys to—”

“Why are you doing this?”

“Doing what?”

“ _This_ ,” and she gestures awkwardly between them.

“You’d prefer if I left you back there with—”

“Why do _you_ care? You don’t know me, and I sure as hell don’t know you. We don’t talk unless you need me to do shit for you. And even that, it's through these pointless emails and notes for your dumb project files.”

Oh yes. Perfect. Spectacular word vomit.

“...okay?" and he sounds amused. "So, you’re unhappy that I don’t spend time with you in office?”

_What a fucking arrogant—_

“Are you embarrassed to be seen with someone as insignificant as me?”

“ _Insignificant_ as you?”

“You know,” she fumbles her words. “Th-the thing you said when we first met. That I’m just a contract staff.”

“But you _are_ just a contract employee?” his head tilts, looking—much to her frustration—rather puzzled.

Her stomach churns from the alcohol and she groans, torn between crawling under the covers so he could just leave, or punching him. Both seems like a fantastic idea—though, pummelling his stupid, smug, weirdly handsome face sounds fucking brilliant. She’s never backed away from smart-mouths all her life, and she wouldn’t change any of that now. Screw being an adult.

“I—I mean— _yes._ I know what I am—" and she slurs a little, “—but you made it sound like I’m worthless, and that’s _not_ fucking _okay_. My designation does not define me.”

There’s a short silence before he clears his throat. “I’m merely stating the obvious. You said yourself—you’ve no experience in this area of work. And yet you managed to unravel a report prepared by Hux. One of my best guys." His voice strains a little. "You're basically an intern, but with a higher pay and larger responsibilities. It's honestly more of a compliment.”

A harsh laugh escapes her. “You're fucking hilarious. You realise the—the _way_ you said it...it doesn't feel like one.”

“Not sure how that’s _my_ problem. Sensitivity isn’t my thing,” and his tone grows tetchy. "Is that what’s really bothering you?”

“No—" she admits, “—but I can’t understand you. The way you act like you don’t know me. Even after looking at me the way you did when we first met. Even though I pretty much work for you. Doing whatever unreasonable crap you want and whenever you ask for it.”

Another brief silence again.

“I apologise if I made you uncomfortable. I’ve been told I have a very strong look that can be…upsetting to some." And Rey senses he’s genuinely irritated at this point. "But for that last part of your statement, that’s your _job_ , Miss Ridley. That’s what the company’s hired you for.”

Rey knows she’s well out of her mind for picking an argument with someone like Ben Solo. Particularly after he’s just made sure she’s home safely and rescuing her from a night that could have gone so much worse. But, with alcohol bravery full-on, she wants to watch the world burn. “ _Well—_ better enjoy my services while you can, because when Poe gives me a permanent position in a few days, I’m never working for you _ever_ again, you fucking asshole!”

 _Oh shit. Crap, crap, crap._ She realises her foul mouth may have finally gone _too_ far when the unnerving stillness drags on far longer this time. 

His tone is steely. “Say that again?” When she doesn’t respond, his hands press on the mattress at either side of her. He leans closely. _Too_ close. “I asked you a question. Is Dameron converting you next week?”

“Maybe…” she whispers, paralysed by how little space there is between them. She could literally move forward _just_ a little and their lips would touch.

His eyes narrow. “I see.”

And the quietness draws out as he continues to look at her, his face impassive with furrowed eyebrows. Like he’s attempting to work something out in his head. 

Suddenly, her stomach lurches worse than ever, and she immediately knows it's coming. Not word vomit again, but _real_ vomit this time. She roughly shoves him aside, stumbling on all fours as she scampers over to the trash can below her desk, magnificently throwing up. She wants to kill herself— _yes_ , perhaps disappear into the ground so she'd never have to see fucking Ben Solo again. She groans as her shoulder that knocked into him starts to ache. As if she rammed into a brick wall instead of a person. 

"Feels better to let it all out, doesn't it?" he says wryly. 

_Sarcastic little shit_ , she curses. She gives another irritated grunt, waving her hand feebly, signalling him to just leave. But he still helps her up and back to the bed. He pulls out two pieces Kleenex from the box at her bedside, dabbing her lips clean before tossing it to the trash. Finally, the weight starts to sink in, her eyelids becoming heavy. Like all the hostility between them has zapped her energy.

“Time for bed,” he murmurs, shifting back and she whines soundlessly at their sudden distance. It’s a confusing blur, feeling him lift her legs onto the bed and pulling the covers. When her head hits the pillow, she promptly passes out. 

“Sweet dreams, Rey,” is the last thing she hears.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoo-boy! What a feisty little drunk Rey 🍿  
> As always, your feedback and thoughts are much appreciated ❤️
> 
> Sources:  
> [Beaumont Kin](http://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Beaumont_Kin)  
> [Ben's MPV](http://www.google.com/search?q=mercedes+v+class+klassen&rlz=1C5CHFA_enAU879AU879&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi1rPTglcrqAhUHA3IKHULtAX8Q_AUoAXoECA0QAw&biw=1713&bih=803) (for his long legs ya know)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **ESCALATION TIME!**
> 
> Also, do note in Chapter 1, I’ve edited in a brief comment by Rey about her student loan when she’s talking to Kaydel for it to link sensibly in this chapter. 
> 
> **WARNINGS:** So…Ben will start to exhibit some really awful Kylo Ren-ish behaviour, abusing and manipulating his position of authority. I’m assuming you’ve read the tags to understand how this story is gonna go and why Rey’s own motivations leads her not to simply report him to HR? Tags updated with some of the questionable characteristics.
> 
> Now— onwards!

Rey groans again when she wakes to a splitting headache the next morning. Empty stomach. Stale mouth. Fucked-up hair. She looks at her phone—almost noon, and her moods plummets further. She yanks off her clothes from last night, pulling on an oversized hoodie before dragging herself out of the bedroom.

“Whoa, look at you,” Kaydel says from the couch.

Rey rubs her temples. “Any Tylenol left?”

“Second cabinet on the left. Have some food when you take those. Made pancakes this morning.”

Rey lugs her body around to grab a plate, the bottle of medication and some cutleries. She scoops the last two pancakes from the stove and drops herself down on the table. She pours herself some water and chugs it down.

Kaydel observes her. “Just _how_ much did you have last night? Not seen you like this since college orientation.”

“ _Too_ much. Laying off booze for a while.”

“That’s what they all say,” and Kaydel clears her throat. “Saw your boyfriend last night.”

Rey chokes. “ _What_?”

“You heard me. Someone was in the apartment, right? Saw him when I came out to get cookies. I thought a stranger broke in!”

Rey had hoped the hazy situation in her mind was just a dream. An inexplicable occurrence where someone like him made her feel safe and cared for. A horrid nightmare where she defies him with alcohol swimming in her veins and her moronic words lurching out like puke. “Y-you saw him? Did he say anything?”

“He was letting himself out when I switched on the lights,” and Kaydel shrugs absentmindedly. “He gave me a nod and left. Like it was totally _okay_ to be wandering in someone else’s apartment in the dark!” She wiggles her eyebrows. “Couldn’t see his face clearly, but he’s gorgeously tall. Maybe a little ignorant, because like what the _fuck_? He’s lucky I didn’t have a knife!”

Rey pokes at the food. “He’s not my boyfriend.”

“Right.”

“He’s my…” and Rey chews the inside of her cheek. “Co-worker.”

“A peer? Or someone senior?”

“Why're you asking so many questions?”

“Just snooping. He seems _way_ older,” and Kaydel grins. “Sweet of him to bring you home. Nothing happened in the room?”

“No?” but Rey’s face is hot. “Not with someone I work with. Don’t shit where you eat.”

Kaydel lets it go soon after and Rey pops two pills to help pacify the throbbing pain. She swears as she cleans up yesterday’s vomit in the trash can, deciding to go for a run after to sweat everything off, because staying in her room made her think about _him_. After a shower, she scrolls though her messages. But when she spies a message from an unknown number, she winces.

And she was _just_ starting to feel better.

So clever.

Smarter than Rey will give him credit for, even if this is bullshit and he _clearly_ didn’t obtain her particulars for whatever reasons he’s implying. She’s torn between feeling creeped out, or flattered by his fascination with her. She blinks a couple of times before giving in, promptly saving his number.

He doesn’t reply—

But Rey soon forgets about it, taking out her paints and sinks into her own little world of distractions. She’s relieved the room was dark last night. Dim enough to hide the rows of model planes along the shelves. She doesn’t think she can manage another layer getting peeled back by him. 

* * *

It’ll take another week before Rey’s world goes up in flames.

It’s another late night and the office is pretty empty when she hears shouting from the general meeting room across the floor. She looks up, catching Finn’s eye. He rubs his neck, shrugging indifferently and her skin prickles, knowing Poe’s been in that meeting room with Amilyn for almost an hour.

“What’s going on?” she whispers to Finn.

Finn and Poe definitely have something going on between them. When they think no one’s looking, she catches Poe’s hand resting atop Finn’s shoulder. Sometimes lingering a little too long. When she works through the night, she chooses a cubicle in the back, far from anyone to be undisturbed. More than once, she’s seen Finn hanging around when Poe stays late. And they’ll _always_ leave together.

“Uh, not a clue.”

Rey frowns. “You’re such a crap liar.”

“Think it’s best Poe tells you.”

Her stomach drops. Something must have gone horribly wrong. Her leg shakes irritably, her fingers drumming on the table with her mind going through a list of things she did the past week. Wondering where she made a mistake that could’ve stolen the opportunity from her. The door to the meeting room eventually opens, and she watches Amilyn leave solemnly. Poe sticks his head out, gesturing for Rey to come over.

“Gimme a moment,” he tells her when she enters.

His hands are on his hips, looking out the window as she shuts the door. She sits in silence, her hands folded neatly across her lap. She feels her eyelids closing, waiting in bated breath for the rebuff. She tells herself she’s used to this. Being fucked over in life. Going through countless personal trials. Giving her hope and then taking it away at every attempt she tries to pick herself up. 

“It’s all fucking bullshit,” Poe snaps. “You need to know there are some motherfuckers— _excuse_ the language—who exist solely to tear down any semblance of achievement. They can’t stand seeing others do better. Can’t accept _we_ source the better quality.”

She tilts her head. “Sorry, I’m not following.”

He turns around, face taut. “That _thing_ we talked about—the permanent position? Bad news. Been put on hold.”

Despite being prepared, she still feels crushed. “Why? Was it something I did?”

“Hell no!” Poe exclaims. “Amilyn was informed that your work’s still not acceptable, and hiring you in a permanent role would be an ineffective use of available headcount.” He slaps his forehead, scrubbing his palm across the face. “This company has the usual red tapes. Before we hire someone, senior management gets involved in reviewing all potential prospects, but because of this… _objection_ against you, approval's been suspended.”

Her knees wobble. She’s barely listening now.

Poe’s voice still echoes in the background. “I’m still fighting this of course, but my hands are tied—"

 _No_. He wouldn’t do this. He wouldn’t _dare_ do this to her. To anyone. There should never be any malice involved at a professional workspace. It should never be personal. No sensible individual would do this out of spite. It’s too cruel for this to be anything more than just pure coincidence.

“—just a small setback. Hope this won't knock you down too much, champ.”

Or would he?

“—you’re still my best girl. Everyone knows how fucking amazing you are.”

***

Rey’s a headless spectre floating across the floor when she returns to her seat, staring at the walls of her cubicle quietly. She shakes her head to Finn who tells her to head home. She waits until Poe and Finn leave before snatching her phone with trembling fingers.

Her heartbeats are vicious, the anger boiling over so quickly that she’s ready to roar out loud. If her glower could _actually_ burn, it’d sear a hole right into her display screen as she awaits a response.

She stands from her chair so quickly that it slams backwards. With clenched fists, she barrels her way across the dimly lit department, doing a quick check to see if anyone from Ben's division is still around. _Control yourself,_ she cautions. _Remember he’s still an executive. It’s not personal. Not at all. Purely business. We’re all mature professionals._

That goes to shit.

She doesn’t even knock, shoving the door so roughly that it smashes open.

Ben’s office is nice. Far better than others she’s seen. It’s clean, minimalistic and has rows of shelves with files and books neatly arranged along one side of the wall. There’s a sofa set at the other corner with a coffee table and a plush grey rug surrounding it. He also has his own kitchenette, which explains why he never comes out to the shared breakroom. His desk is right in the centre with only five items; a laptop, some writing materials, a computer tablet, his wallet and phone. His extensive legs are resting atop the table, leaning back casually against the chair with documents in hand. He doesn’t look up, unmoved by her rude display of anger.

“Was that _really_ necessary?” he asks. "Just had the door fixed from the last time I broke it.”

 _Wait—_ _is he wearing glasses_? It’s just not fucking fair how a complete asshole can look like…like _this_. No. _Fuck him._ This egocentric maniac is going down. She inhales deeply, counting to ten before closing the door. She takes a seat across him, eyes flashing. She’s fucking pissed, and if anything, he seems more entertained by her aggression.

“I need this job.”

“You have a job.”

“Don’t play with me,” her voice starting to rise. “You know _exactly_ what I’m talking about. I told you what Poe was going to do, which is stupidly arrogant on my part. I absolutely regret that now. Wasn’t sober when I said it—" and her teeth grinds, “—but does that warrant you sabotaging my application?”

“You think I’m involved?”

“I’m not stupid, _Ben Solo_ ,” she snarls his name like poison. “Poe doesn’t have any issues with my work. Neither does the other managers on the team. The only other on the management committee I do work for, is _you_!”

He finally seems to stir, settling his papers on the desk and running a hand through his hair as he looks at her wordlessly. She waits for him to say something. _Anything._ But he doesn’t. Instead, he rests a knuckle under his jaw and simply just… _stares_ at her, till she feels her blush fanning across her cheeks, utterly bewildered.

“ _If_ you weren’t satisfied with my work, you didn’t say a word to me,” and her fingers dig into the armrests to focus. “I don’t think it’s fair to say I’m shit when I’m not given a chance to fix it. You’ve never returned any files or given any feedback that I was messing up.”

“Where’s your cell?”

She snaps her head back in confusion. “At my desk? What does that have to do with—”

“I like to know that job performance conversations with my employees remain strictly confidential.”

Rey grimaces. “You mean you want to ensure I’m not recording this? Lucky for you, I’m too bloody naïve to think of that!” She’s slightly breathless when she urges again, “ _Well_? Are you gonna answer why—”

“There’s nothing wrong with them,” he bluntly says. “You understand exactly what I want and how I want it. You’re perfect.”

She stills. _Huh?_

“If you move to Dameron’s team—like you so _kindly_ reminded me in your room—you can’t work for me anymore. That’s not acceptable. I need you.”

She blinks, looks down at her lap and back up at him. She waits for the hidden punchline. Or the secret joke. But he remains the same, unrelenting and impenetrable. “I—I’ll still work on your projects even after I—"

“No. That wouldn’t be fair to Gial who would've sponsored your hire.”

“And what you’re doing to me instead—is _fair?_ ”

A small, quiet smile creeps onto his lips, flustering her.

She feels hysterical, reiterating her words with dire indignation, “I _need_ this job.”

Ben removes his glasses, placing it on the table. “I’ve looked at your profile. Worked with enough people to know you’re not looking to rise the corporate ladder. And yet here you are, producing some of the best work with an attention to detail I’ve not seen since..." And he pauses thoughtfully, perhaps becoming slightly smug. “Since _myself_." And her insides knot when he shoots her a nasty smirk. “Though, you have the _worst_ handwriting I’ve ever seen. Didn’t they teach you how to write when you were a kid?”

Rey’s lips part wordlessly, unsure of what to say or to make of this partial chastise and… _praise_?

“What’s your intention here?” he pulls her back to reality.

“What else could it be for?” she shoots back angrily. “ _Money_ of course. As a contract staff, I’m literally paid half of what I would’ve been if I’m permanent. I actually have life obligations to manage. Not everyone is born with a silver spoon up their ass like you!”

“You’re quite a coarse little brat, aren’t you?” His eyes darken. “What I wouldn’t give to teach you some manners.”

She feels an invisible current shooting up her spine in response to that, cussing under her breath at this senseless attraction to him. _Get a hold of yourself. He’s just fucking with you._ “I didn’t work this hard to become some cheap corporate slave!” she hisses.

“I agree. There’s no free lunch in this world.”

“Then pull back that shit statement you said and let Poe hire me.”

“Why don’t you join me instead? I can assure you that I’ve more influence over management decisions for hiring employees.”

Rey doesn’t hesitate. "I’ll _never_ join you. I hate what you do for your clients. The way you rip apart a company’s worth and make assessments on them like they’re just numbers on a sheet for a buyer. How you tear down decades of blood, sweat and tears of those who built the business from the ground up. In Director Ackbar’s team, we’re always looking for ways to help corporations self-sustain.”

His expression is almost bored, as if he’s frequently challenged with this. “And yet, you do such an excellent job at something you claim is despicable.” And he shrugs languidly. “Was worth a shot to ask nicely, but I had a feeling from the get-go you’d say no.”

She’s beyond horrified by his nerve to justify his interference. “You’ve got to be kidding me, right? What kind of person does this? If they don’t want the job you offered, you get over it and fucking move on!”

“You really need to watch how you speak to me,” he glares. “As long as we’re in the office, I’m your _superior._ Regardless of how you feel about me.”

She nibbles her lip. “I—I mean...what I meant is that there are plenty of people I know of that are dying to join your little death team.”

He actually rolls his eyes. “You’re not just anyone. You should know by now that I can take _whatever_ I want.” And he folds his arms across his ridiculously wide chest. “Before we go on, can we agree that your only motivation here is being sufficiently paid?”

“Not _only_ , but for this argument’s sake, yes.”

“Okay then. I’ll fund anything you need.”

A record player screeches in her mind, her palms beginning to sweat. What the hell is wrong with this guy? He must be insane. _Yes_ , that’s the only explanation. It's crazy to think he's nothing like the rumours she’s heard. He’s actually _so_ much worse!

“E-Excuse me?” she stutters. “What do you mean _fund_ me? I’m not some escort you can just buy!”

“ _Grow up_ , Miss Ridley,” Ben frowns. “Look at this as a non-disclosed agreement with mutual benefits for us. I need you to continue working for me. But since you refuse to join my division through the appropriate channels, and all you want is fair compensation, I’d say this works out for both parties.”

“You can’t afford me.”

“I sure can. I know exactly how much you’re paid now, and how much you will be paid as a full-time associate.” 

“What if I want more than that?” She's running out of options to throw him off. “I’m the only one that’s balancing two divisions’ workload right now. Everyone wants their shit prioritised.”

He pinches his nose bridge, a fleeting second of impatience. “ _Fine_. How much is it going to take? Give me a number.”

Rey’s losing her shit. She vomits out an incredibly obscene sum, desperately hoping it’ll push him away and end this completely outrageous banter. It's almost meant to be a joke. With her level of experience and that she was pretty much an undergrad not too long ago, there’s _no_ _way_ he’d agree to paying her _that_.

He answers immediately. “Done.”

“ _What_? You can’t have that much to throw away!”

“Does it look like I'll have issues with paying you?” he scoffs. “I don’t need money. I want talent.”

When she's speechless, his expression surprisingly softens. “Don’t be embarrassed. There’s nothing wrong with pay incentives. That’s just the way it works, and I know this better than anyone. If anything, I admire your honesty.”

She doesn’t respond.

He swipes a thumb across his lower lip, contemplating calmly. “If you have any outstanding debts, I’ll take care of it. Just send whatever it is to my personal email, or in a sealed envelope to Mitaka. I’ll get my lawyers to look through. If you need spending money right now, my banker will arrange a supplementary card issued under your name. Shouldn’t take longer than a few days.”

She does the calculation in her head. Assuming she’ll accept the offer with this lunatic, with that amount he’s just settled to pay her, she needn't keep this job longer than a year. She’d have enough rent money to leave to Kaydel for at least twelve months. That’s an entire year of being nomadic and still having heaps of savings left when she returns. And if he’s going to arrange to pay-off the remainder of her college loan…

Rey licks her lips nervously. “If I were to agree to this— _whatever_ this is between us, I want to know what else entails in this arrangement.”

“Ah. You mean, outside of work?”

“You’re effectively offering to be like a—" and she swallows, “—sugardaddy.”

Ben actually chuckles, his deep laughter vibrating throughout the room. “Never thought about that, but now that you’ve mentioned it…” and he slants his head. “Is that what you want me to be?”

She studies him, unable to discern if he’s being serious, so she resolves that he’s mocking her as usual and ignoring his question by asking another is the better route. “Does that mean I have to…” and she trails off.

He lifts an eyebrow. "To?"

She stares at him, embarrassed for even mentioning this. “Do we need to—"

He catches up, raising a hand to halt her words. “If this is about sex, we don’t have to comply with any physical requirements in our arrangement—since that offends you. I have other ways to satisfy those needs.”

 _No, it doesn’t offend me at all,_ she thinks in surprise. But she finds herself just nodding, unexpectedly more wounded that he’s basically just said he’d rather fuck someone else.

“Now, let’s talk some ground rules,” his voice now rigid. “My projects will take first priority effective from my first payment. If you work double time by continuing assignments with Dameron’s team, that’s your prerogative, but my deadlines are non-negotiable. I’ll let Amilyn and Gial know you need a teacher, and I’ll be personally coaching you, so you can be offered a permanent position in the near future.”

“And when will that be?” she grumbles.

“When I say so.”

Her mouth falls open. “ _You_ —you’re a—" and she cuts herself off quickly.

“What?” and his gaze narrows.

She shakes her head, fighting to hold her tongue.

“A what? Say it.”

“You’re a _monster_ ,” Rey gasps out, her tone having more bite than she expected.

For the first time, Ben appears to recoil. He shifts his legs off the desk and sits forward, his head dipping to meet her eyes. His lips seem to quiver, nodding tersely at her words. Almost like a sullen child surfacing from beneath that formidable exterior—

“Yes, I am.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that sure escalated quickly. As always, your feedback and thoughts are much appreciated ❤️
> 
> ALSO, finally caved for [Twitter](http://twitter.com/pocketsofdaisy)  
> It’s unbelievable how much trashy goodness there is! Come talk to me about Reylo, cutie Adam, see my updates!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shoutout appreciation for each and every one of you who have taken the time to give me comments, encouragement and feedback in previous chapters! Really makes my day and helps so much with my writing! ❤️
> 
> Another bit of a time-skip here, so this turned out to be longer than expected. Almost 5k words sheesshh…
> 
> Enjoy! 🦋
> 
>  **WARNINGS (SPOILERS):** This chapter explores some toxic working male culture in the decadent ways how they may socialise after office hours. This will include a scene where a character is amorous with another (outside the main ship), some really indecent talk AND there’s also a scene where sexual arousal is explored.

_“Shit_!” Rey swears as several folders slide off her arms, plunging to the floor. She moodily picks up the scattered items, her eyes darting around to search for where her pen rolled off to—

But she flinches when a large pair of feet stop in front of her.

 _Ah fuck,_ she sighs. She tilts her head up to see Ben bending down, holding out her pen, and she realises just how ridiculously _tiny_ it looks between his fingers.

“Looking for this?”

“Thank you, Director Solo,” she mutters, increasingly flustered as she snatches it. 

He lifts her pile of paperwork off the ground effortlessly as they straighten up. “This is pretty heavy stuff. Would you like me to—”

“It’s no problem!” she hastily rejects, stretching her arms out. “I’ll manage. Give them to me.”

His head slants downwards, peering at her. “You sure?”

“Absolutely,” she nods, but she instantly regrets it when he hands it over, because her heart races when his digits trail against her wrist, up her knuckles and along her fingers as he lets go. When he strides past her, he _winks_ and she desperately wants the earth to open up and swallow her. She shouldn’t be liking this. _This_ indescribable salacious, sexually charged exchanges between her and someone who’s effectively her boss—

Oh, but she _does_.

It’s already been three months since agreeing to Ben’s private arrangement, and she can’t deny this little secret of theirs persistently sends a nasty thrill up her spine. Since then, if she ever foolishly makes eye-contact with him, he’ll give a discreet wink. As if to remind her how much he owns her. When she criticised him for not acknowledging her, to show what an obnoxious prick he is, he still manages to use that as a weapon to undo her. There’s a slight queasy feeling, wondering if she’s exposed too much of her true incentives to him. But once she hears Kaydel’s happy squeals when they make rent painlessly, coupled with the fact that she’s received a confirmation from the bank that she no longer has _any_ outstanding loan repayments, she shrugs it off.

Poe’s understandably furious about Ben becoming her mentor, swearing something along the lines of, “ _Over my dead body before she joins his fucking team_.” Finn and Rose offer sympathetic encouragement, telling her that working for the demon spawn Solo is a _fantastic_ opportunity for her professional résumé in the long-run.

And Ben’s a man of his word.

He never asks for anything more than her commitment to his work. Now that it’s become publicly known that she’s working closely with his division, he’s made efforts to improve their interactions, occasionally walking over to her desk. Sometimes he’ll make conversation, which is pretty standard as far as small talk goes—

“How was your weekend?”

“Fine. Good. How’s yours?”

“Good, good. Did anything interesting?”

“Not really. You?”

“Some social drinks and dinners. Mostly late nights.”

“That’s nice.”

“Yes. Very nice.”

“Uh-huh. Okay.”

“Okay. Have those ready for me by Friday. Thanks.”

But there’s always been something in the way Ben looks at Rey. How those same eyes appear utterly uninterested in the company of others, but become intently focused to every word when it’s _her_.

* * *

It’s a quiet weekday night, so Rey’s sitting in her bedroom watching random shit on her laptop.

She’d never admit it, but she has an odd dissatisfaction despite getting the ideal sugardaddy arrangement. Financial support with no sexual favours. A few days after saying yes, an absurd no-limit supplementary credit card arrives to her apartment, solidifying their agreement further. Almost as if she really _is_ his lover—

But her mind often wanders back to when she called him a _monster_. His façade faltered for just a second, showing a fleeting moment of vulnerability. Something has been chewing at her, and now that he’s forced himself into her life, she’ll gnaw at it. Putting Benjamin Solo and Hosnian Prime Consulting in the search engine brings up countless of business media, socialite events and interviews relating to his academic history, his explosive success in the field, his ruthless negotiation skills and his obvious youth. All accompanied with various imagery that’s sure to—

“ _Nope_!” she says aloud, quickly force-quitting the tabs. She is _not_ going to bait herself into gawking at photoshoots where he actually, could possibly, look _very_ …

She sighs, and decides to try a different approach. “Organa Skywalker Solo,” she mutters as she types, sluggishly realising that the names do seem vaguely familiar. 

The internet has tons of shit about them, with a number of related books, pictures and news concerning a young and wealthy female politician, Senator Leia Organa-Skywalker who died years ago from an unknown illness, leaving behind her only son and beloved husband; a former military pilot by the name of Captain Han Solo. But there are some _bizarre_ conspiracy rumours, claiming Senator Organa's death was a suicide, going even as far to suspect foul play—

> **POTENTIAL MURDER VICTIM**

Rey blinks at the words, before shaking her head and hastily moving past it. The articles make references to Luke Skywalker, the senator’s millionaire twin brother, also a former military pilot before being discharged early and subsequently worked in the financial industry for a couple of decades. He’s since retired and is now a reclusive philanthropist. Both Leia and Luke are notably descendants from a very old and distant European aristocratic family known as the House of Naberrie—whom one of their eminent primogenitors, a decorated historic war leader by the name of General Anakin Skywalker married one of the Naberrie patriarch’s daughters, Padme Amidala.

 _Jesus fucking Christ_ , Rey thinks. As if Ben couldn’t be any more loaded, his entire family has to come from old money too.

She tilts her head at a photo of the beautiful senator with her handsome husband at their media covered nuptials. She continues scrolling till she finds one of Leia, holding her new baby among a lush manor in a very affluent oceanside development known as The Chandrila Estates, located a couple of hours by flight outside the city. She flips through a little more till she _finally_ comes across a limited coverage for a memorial. Her lips part in amazement at the young boy walking beside his mother’s coffin during the funeral procession, his tiny hand placed on the casket looking unquestionably bitter. Her heart breaks for the child who was exposed to such painful emotions at a tender age. To be thrown into the spotlight and have his reactions visible for public scrutiny. From the date stamp, they were taken the year she was born, and he looks roughly ten years old—

The wavy black hair, aquiline nose and distinguishable ears are unmistakeably Ben Solo’s.

She’s a little perplexed. With his prominent background, it’s surprising that he’s chosen to work a corporate job. Curiously passing himself off as just another rich, well-connected kid.

Suddenly, she notices some very peculiar photos. A strange, gangly looking individual with disturbing scars across his cheeks lingers around Ben, comforting him. In another photo where both Han and Luke are giving speeches, in the blurred background, she sees Ben’s hand being gripped by the same man. She sweeps over the images faster, but fails to find an annotation of his identity on any of the shots. She zooms into his face to squint, barely making out his features that are covered by a newsboy cap with his oddly long hair shrouding his appearance.

An eerie silence washes over her as she stares at the pixilated photo on her screen, the hairs on her nape starting to spike.

She nearly jumps out of her skin when her phone beeps.

_Ugh_. Another downside of working more with Ben is that she has to deal with his wider death squad too.

It’s almost eleven on a bloody work night, and he wants her to deliver a damn document according to his schedule. No. Fuck him. She’ll tell him to go to hell and he’ll have it on his desk at the _appropriate_ work timing tomorrow—

But instead, she opens up the same reminder she uses each time she wants to strangle someone from Ben's division. Pulling up her bank details on her phone, she stares at the balances. The monthly incoming now consists of two transactions; one from the company’s HR department with her measly contractor pay, and the other from Ben’s private account.

A far, _far_ larger sum.

***

She takes an Uber to the office where she storms towards her cubicle, rummaging through the cabinet to pull out the file, flipping her hair out of the way. Her locks are always in a bun at work. Just the way she likes it. But she couldn’t be fucked to sleek it back now.

She’s tired.

She’s moody.

She just wants her fucking bed.

She pulled on a black, fitted turtleneck and skinny jeans, knowing that because it’s a lounge, she’ll have to put on stupid heels or they wouldn’t let her in. There’s no point in asking Hux to step out on her account. Too bloody beneath him.

She almost snarls out angrily when he messages her again as she gets into her second Uber ride.

When she finally arrives, the Finalizer turns out to be an extremely posh men’s lounge in the middle of the city. There are throngs of men and women all dressed to the nines. All incredibly gorgeous as expected.

“ _Jeez_ ,” Rey mumbles and looks down at her outfit. She takes a deep breath and makes her way to a menacing looking guy by the main entrance. “Hello there, I’m looking to meet Armitage Hux? Just passing documents. Not planning on staying or anything.”

The bouncer frowns. "Who?"

“Armitage Hux? Red-head, skinny and looks like he’s got something shoved up his ass?” she sulks.

“No idea, darling. You’ll need an invitation to go here. Or someone to take you in.”

 _Fuck no_! There’s _no_ way she’s going to wait out here. She rings Hux’s number, but it goes straight to voicemail. _Damn him and his shitty cell reception,_ she swears, trying to show a picture of Hux from the company’s website to the bouncer, but he merely shakes his head and glances away. Just as she’s about to give up, a thought crosses her mind. “What about Ben Solo? Is he here?”

The bouncer turns. “Benjamin Solo?”

“Uh, yes. The guy I’m looking for is with him.”

The bouncer crosses his arms before whistling for a girl behind him. “ _Jessika_ —come over here for a second!” and when she walks up to him, he gestures to Rey. “This little lady here says she’s with Solo’s party. Could you escort her there, doll?”

Jessika turns out to be a very pretty girl. With her long, gleaming hair, perfectly shaped eyebrows and cute beauty mark just above her flawlessly pink lips, she’s everything Rey could never find time to primp into. “Hi there!” she flashes Rey a big smile. “Sure. Follow me.”

As they walk in, Rey asks, “Soooo…does Ben come here often?”

“Mister Solo? Oh yes. He’s one of our V-VIP members. It’s good you declared yourself at the front, because he always has a private room. You wouldn’t have found him on your own.”

“Lucky me,” Rey mumbles.

She brings Rey into the upper levels where it leads to a long corridor with several doors. She hears numerous laughter, men shouting and glasses breaking from behind some of them. _Is this where Ben spends most of his time?_ Rey wonders. She suddenly feels nervous, realising she’s going to be seeing him as well. This will be the first time she's meeting him outside the office since that disastrous ‘rookie welcome drinks’ fiasco. 

Jessika stops outside the door of the last room. “So, who is it you’re looking for?”

“Armitage Hux,” Rey says and waves the file in her hand. “I work with him, and he apparently decided he needed these stupid documents right this fucking instance.”

Jessika laughs. “Right. Well, may I suggest I announce that you’re looking for him?”

“Sure,” but Rey notices Jessika’s mouth purses a little. “Is there a problem?”

“Err…” she nods her head. “The boys in this room can get pretty rowdy, so if you’re not planning on staying and this is strictly for professional reasons, allow me to take the lead for you.”

 _What a gem of a girl_ , Rey thinks.

Jessika proceeds to knock on the door and it opens into a breathtaking space that’s tastefully modelled after a Victorian-style manor’s living room. There’s a magnificent fireplace adorning the centre with large, antique sofas and armchairs curving around it. The walls are lined with towering shelves holding rows of books, cigar boxes and various assortments of liquor. With two large windows that allow a sprawling view of the city skyline, it’s an undeniably stunning area. 

And Rey is immediately hit with a strong smell of cigarettes and alcohol.

“Excuse us, gentlemen—” Jessika clears her throat. “We have a visitor here looking for a Mister Armitage Hux?”

She could see Mitaka sitting with two other managers from Ben’s division, Elrik Vonreg and Liam Pyre on one of the sofas playing a boisterous card game with four unfamiliar ladies. Hux is seated on another sofa with a blonde lady who seems to be present in a far more formal capacity than the other females. Finally, when Rey's eyes sweep over to a corner, noticing two figures nestling in an armchair near the fireplace, her legs turn to jelly—

It’s Ben.

And he’s curled up with a woman. She’s arranged on his lap in an incredibly provocative position, a forearm behind her back while the other palm grips her thigh. She watches the brunette whisper to him delicately, her slender arms wrapped around his neck, and Rey thinks her heart’s about to fly out from how intoxicated she is by the sight. _What the fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, don’t stare, stop staring, look away now, now, now_ —

“ _Ridley_!” Hux thunders, drunkenness strong in him. “Did you walk or something? Took a fucking century to get here!”

When Ben faces her direction, Rey sharply twists to stumble over to Hux, her feet scrambling like her life depended on it. “You neglected to mention the part where the name of the room is _not_ under you!” she snaps, shoving him the file.

“Whoops. Anyway, stay for one,” and Hux pushes her shoulders down onto the seat beside him. “The least I can do.”

She shakes her head. “I’m good, I don’t—”

“Don’t be stupid. Fucking _shut up_ for once and enjoy this,” and he forces a glass of whisky into her hand.

She looks down at the drink in her hand, musing thoughtfully. “It’s sad you’re only slightly more likeable when you’re wasted.” And she looks up to see Jessika standing over her.

“I take it you’re doing alright? Shall I leave you to it?”

“Not really,” Rey squeaks. “Could you come back and get me in ten minutes? I _cannot_ stay here.”

Jessika giggles. “I get you. See you in a bit.”

“Amret!” Hux slurs to the blonde. “This is one of our newer joiners. She’s working with us on your Starkiller project, which we can get right to the details and sign the pages.”

“Pleasure—” Amret nods kindly to Rey before turning back to Hux. "And we can definitely get right on it, Armitage. Just after my executive partner decides to stop coddling Benjamin.”

Rey peeks from the corner of her eyes—

—and instantly flushes when she realises that while the pretty brunette is still whispering and nibbling Ben’s ear, he’s looking right at _her_ instead. _Good_ _God, he’s so fucking rude._ She wrinkles her nose as she continues to sip her whisky, evading his stares.

“ _Ben_!” Hux roars. “Stop screwing around and get over here!”

 _Is it fucking ten minutes yet?_ Rey whines in her head. Her foot taps anxiously, taking larger gulps from her glass each time. She sees Ben standing up with his companion, making their way over. She swallows when she feels his weight settle on the space beside her, the brunette understandably taking the spot closer to Amret. 

“Hello,” she hears him say gently, as if to coax her attention. His eyes are slightly red, likely from the mindless hours of drinking. His usual suit jacket is off, wearing only his crisp white shirt—which Rey tries very hard _not_ to notice—is extremely wrinkled with the upper buttons popped open, revealing part of his pale, muscular chest. _It’s almost like marble_ , her eyes widen before quickly focusing at a beauty mark on his cheek instead.

“Wanna see it closer?” he chuckles, leaning in.

She immediately retreats backwards. “Is this your standard pastime?”

“Not always.”

“Isn’t she a client? How can you be so…” and she gestures faintly at his tipsy demeanour.

“So?” and he arches an eyebrow. “Go on. Finish the sentence.”

“So _touchy_?” and her skin glowing a crimson hue. “Wouldn’t someone call-out on professional conduct? Or conflict of interest? Or _something_? You could get into trouble, right?"

Ben shrugs. “You’d be surprise to know that I never make the first move.” And he gives a cheeky wink. “We’re all consenting adults. I know the boundaries. So far, no complaints.”

“You? Not making the first move? Yeah, _huge_ shocker there considering I know how pushy you are.”

“It’s different when I’m actually interested. I’m not the same guy if I want something,” and his eyes darken. “Or someone.” 

Rey blinks once.

Twice.

Thrice.

Then, she coughs awkwardly. “ _Anyway_ , the night you brought me home from the bar—where I tipped over your table, was it the same too? Those two girls?”

“Nah. Those are Hux and Phasma’s friends from another accounting firm.” And there’s a glimmer of curiosity in his expression. “Are you…worried about me?”

“Sure. You’re my boss,” and she’s surprised at her honesty. “And I feel kinda pathetic saying this, but I actually spend more time with _you_ than my own roommate.”

“What about _not_ as your boss?” his voice strangely softer this time.

She hesitates, unsure if she’s heard him right. “What are you…?” but she trails off when she notices Jessika making her way back into the room with fresh bucket of ice, signalling to her it’s time to go.

It’s as if Ben could read her mind, his eyes flicking to Jessika and then back to her. He takes out his cell to send a message. “I’ll get Artoo to bring you home. Didn’t know Hux reached out to you earlier. Could’ve sent the car to pick you up.”

“I’m fine. I can—”

“Sorry. Non-negotiable.”

She bites her lip as his hand circles around hers when they stand. She whirls around, frantically checking to see if anyone noticed this suddenly display of affection from him. After throwing a wave at Jessika, they promptly exit the room. Downstairs, Ben turns around the corner to an alleyway near a designated smoking area. 

"Just a second. He’s coming," Ben says, still scrolling through his phone.

She notices he’s still holding on to her, but when she tries to wriggle out, he tightens his grip and shakes his head. With him occupied with his phone, she peers at their hands in amazement. How inexplicable it feels to be so comfortably intimate with him in some ways, but yet so distant in others. Studying his face, her emotions muddled from her earlier discovery into the surface of who he is. The potentially angry young boy he once was, laid bare for the world to see. Now that boy’s suppressed, replaced by this cold, unfathomable man who dominates his way to ultimate control over anything.

And anyone.

“How do you spend the money I give you?” he asks.

She’s startled by his question. "Why?"

“Just curious. You’ve not used my card. Haven’t seen you wearing anything particularly new to office.”

 _He notices what I wear?_ she thinks. “Saving up for emergencies.” It’s not really a lie. Just not the complete truth either.

“Hmm," he hums. "That’s worrying.”

“How?”

“Wouldn’t want my investment to suddenly disappear.”

 _Is that all I am to you?_ she sighs. It goes quiet between them again, but soon, her curiosity starts itching. “What about you? Would you _really_ sleep with Amret’s partner? Or you’re just messing with me?”

He looks at her, his voice purring with a musical tinge, “ _Why_?”

“Just curious,” she smugly fires back his own words.

His eyes are still rosy from inebriation when he reaches over to push back some stray strands of her hair. She could’ve imagined it, but for a brief moment, his fingers seemingly grazed along the slope of her neck. He licks his lips and her heart flutters when he backs her against the wall, hands on either side to cage her in. “Yes, Rey. If she asks me to, I’ll fuck her,” and he leans closer to her ear. “As many times as she wants. As hard as she wants. I’ll make her scream my name so many times till she forgets her own. Forgets any other man she’s ever had and drag out every inch of pleasure she’s ever needed. Over and _over_ again until she’s too worn to move. And the only thing she’ll ever remember being inside of her, is _me_.”

Rey sucks in a sharp breath, her body already spinning wildly with an unacquainted awakening that Ben is drawing out. _He’s drunk, so stupidly drunk and has no idea what the fuck he’s saying_ , she tells herself as he softly slides a hand down her ribcage before resting on her waist—

—but when his thumb gently strokes her hipbone, she becomes a trembling mess. She can’t move, when she probably should, but she’s staring back at him. Trapped in some kind of spell where he won’t let her look away. His gaze flicks down to where he’s touching her before holding her gaze again. And her lips part slightly, realising a little shamefully that she’s never been so turned on in her life.

 _Ever_.

His phone rings, breaking them out of the daze. “Yes, Artoo? We’ll be right out, thanks.” He takes her hand again casually, as if she’s just hallucinated the entire thing. The black MPV is already parked at the front with Artoo waiving them over, and with her alertness this round, she notices Artoo has a gun strapped by his waist. 

Ben follows her line of sight as he helps her into the car. “Don’t be afraid. Artoo’s licensed to carry a firearm.” After buckling her seatbelt, he reaches over to press a button by the seat. A drawer slides out, revealing tiny bottles of water. He twists open the cap of one, placing it in her hand.

“Thank you,” she mumbles, feeling giddy from his tenderness.

“She’s going home. You know the place,” he tells Artoo. “Once you’re done, swing back and get me.” When he turns back to Rey, he looks at her inquisitively, as if considering something—

—but as he hunches over, her world blurs. A soft kiss brushes on her cheek and her pores instantly rise. _This_ , she thinks, _is what pure sin must feel like._ So soft, so warm, so tempting and she immediately wonders how his mouth would move against her own.

When he pulls back, his fingers rub the tips of her hair strands. “Your hair. Looks pretty this way.”

* * *

The MPV is pretty outrageous; drink holders, touch screens for a TV, automatic foldaway tables and massage options for the seat. Like being driven home in some ridiculously fancy first-class suite of a plane. Her mind drifts, far up among the clouds where she’ll travel somewhere distant with a blue ocean to daydream to. Or even a quaint little town in the mountains. She’s not particularly fussed. _Soon_ , she thinks.

She addresses Artoo, shyly thanking him for bringing her home the other night when she was a complete nuisance. He tells her his real name is Arthur Deetu, but when Ben was small, he’s nicknamed him ‘Artoo’ which has stuck since. His family has been working for the Skywalkers for generations, ever since the time of Ben's ancestor who was a high-ranking military official.

She feels possessed, becoming greedier for every bits information that would give her a small lens into a world that Ben has so vigilantly concealed.

When she’s finally in her room, she changes her clothes, washes her face and brushes her teeth. She stops to stare at her hair resting along her shoulders, flushing from the memory of his comment. Sprawled across her bed, she watches the ceiling. Her heartbeats quicken as her consciousness creeps back to his touch, her eyes squeezing shut as she visualises it again. His hand moving delicately over her body. His fingers stroking her teasingly. His gravelly tenor when he croons those lewd words. And the _way_ his lips—those carnal sensations he draws out just from his mere…

She can’t stop herself.

She clumsily pushes down her sleep shorts and hikes up her shirt, a hand moving between her thighs while the other flicks at her nipples. Her fingers glide in a way that they haven’t for years. Her body is surprisingly much readier than she expected, feeling the stickiness cling to her skin as she stimulates herself. Her mind roams to other images of Ben, wondering what he’s doing this very second. Is he with her now? Will he bring her home or they’ll go to hers? Maybe he’ll book some uptown hotel? Is he already tangled up inside of her, saying the same filthy things too?

She starts to sweat, her panting becoming harsher when she pictures Ben fucking her instead of someone else.

Already familiar with how his lips feel like, it’s easy— all _too_ easy, to imagine the sensations when his mouth traces her neck, her breasts, her—well, pretty much _everywhere_. With his broad shoulders, tall frame and coupled with large hands and feet, he’s probably massive down there as well. And with all those vividly obscene descriptions he says he’ll do, he definitely likes it rough, and maybe—

Maybe Rey wants it rough from him too. 

“Shit,” she whimpers. “ _Ben_ —” She presses the back of her hand over her mouth when she comes, because the amalgamation of that idea _;_ his skin against hers with the sound of his voice is enough to send her over the edge, her spine arching off the bed as her vision whites out.

It’s the first time in a _very_ long time she’s touched herself. She’s breathless as she wipes her fingers on her clothes, curling up for a deep sleep, blacking out so quickly that she misses an incoming message to her phone. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yikes! 👀 Anyway, as always, keen to hear your feedback and thoughts on the fic! 💙
> 
> Sources:  
> [Chandrila](http://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Chandrila)  
> [The Finalizer](http://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Finalizer)  
> [Starkiller](http://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Starkiller_Base)  
> [Jessika Pava](http://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Jessika_Pava)  
> [Amret Engell](http://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Amret_Engell)  
> [Elrik Vonreg](http://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Elrik_Vonreg)  
> [Pyre](http://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Pyre#:~:text=Commander%20Pyre%20to%20Kazuda%20Xiono,the%20Resistance%2C%20specifically%20the%20Colossus.)  
> [Burn This Photoshoot](http://www.thecut.com/2019/03/keri-russell-adam-driver-play-burn-this-horny-photos.html)


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! 💙 For those who’ve watched AD’s Marriage Story (2019), I can’t pass up the opportunity to pay a homage to the hilarious “pie scene” between Charlie and Cassie (Nicole’s sister).
> 
> This chapter (again almost 5k words…golly) is for evolving Ben & Rey and their relationship before they’ll inevitably bang 🥵 Sorry dears, there is plot and pacing because **I can’t write sex (any kind really) without feelings or emotions.**
> 
>  **WARNINGS:** There’s references to PTSD, on-going coping struggles and the ruthlessness of a high-pressure corporate culture.

It’s a gloomy weekday.

Rey’s sitting in the kitchen area having an afternoon snack, humming as she scrolls through her phone. She prefers to take breaks between office hours alone as it helps her reorganise her thoughts amid a chaotic day. But she nearly chokes when Ben suddenly walks in, which is a little _weird_ considering he has his own kitchenette in his office, unless…

Did he come out here just so he could see her?

He has a freshly brewed cup of coffee in hand as he places a folder on the table. He leans back against the counter to look at her, her mouth stuffed ever so appealingly with food while crumbs of the flaky pastry trail across her lips and the corners of her mouth.

“Was wondering where you were. I’m fine with everything you’ve marked up. Just check on the taxes they paid for the last three years. If it looks good, hand this over to Phasma’s team to take it forward.”

She could only nod, her mouth still completely chockfull like a pufferfish. _Always so attractive_ , she jeers to herself.

“What are you eating?”

She chews and swallows everything quickly. “Just some pie.”

"What kind of pie is that?”

“…it’s apple.”

“Did you make it?”

“I…don’t know.”

He arches an eyebrow. “You don’t know if you made this?”

“I— _sorry._ I meant to say it’s store bought. From the bakery on the second floor?”

“Oh yeah,” and his voice drawls slightly. “It’s good, right? You like sweet things?”

She hears herself scream on the inside. _What the fuck is this provocative shit?_ she curses. Why does he _always_ make everything sound so dirty?

When she doesn’t respond, he tilts his head. “You okay?”

“Yes!” she’s almost shouting. “Just a little surprised to see you here. I thought this was, umm…well, not where _His Majesty_ usually hangs around for a coffee break.”

He only smiles at her taunt, taking a leisurely sip of his drink.

Since they are in an open space, and anyone could walk in at any moment, she feels more awkward than usual with the silence. “Uh, yes. I do like sweet stuff, but this is actually a little heavy. Might wash it down with some coffee later.”

“Would you some of mine?” and he extends his cup to her.

“Huh?” and she clears her throat. “No thanks. I need mine in a certain way. Everything else either tastes like syrup or dirt that was just ground and burned in the morning.”

“I see. You have a very specific requirement for everything that goes in, huh?”

“Yeah. Exactly.”

“Ah—” his voice drops lower. “So, what’s that like? What are the standards to go into yours?”

She stares at him with widened eyes, and she figures she's probably too stunned to retort something witty, or exchange some flippant remark at the time to his blatant euphemism. _No. Don’t. Don’t you fucking dare answer him. He’s a nutjob who enjoys provoking you._ But when she bites her lip, her heart skips when his gaze darkens. She watches him press his mouth together, like he’s pondering on something, and immediately her mind goes back to the night his hands surrounded her while those lips touched her cheek.

They hadn’t spoken about that incident since.

She never mentioned it, and neither did he. He went about as if nothing happened, and it’s _something_ —she’s slowly starting to conclude—he seems to be very good at. She did feel a little pissed off, wondering if he’s jerking her around. The last thing she wants is for him to think it’s _okay_ to mess with her. Like how he messes with everyone else. But it’s tricky. She knew she’s affected because she feels something has changed between them— _especially_ for her.

She hates what he’s done. What he’s made her become. She consoles herself that he just does dumb, thoughtless shit whenever he’s high. It was just a drunk, platonic peck on the cheek.

Nothing more.

“ _Yo_. Whaddup, Ridley!”

Finn’s voice crashes through the tension like a livewire. “Where’ve you been? Poe’s fucking poundin everyone’s ass right up into—” and he skids to a stop when he sees Ben hovering across from her. “Uh, sorry about that, Director Solo. Didn’t see—”

“Go ahead. We’re done here,” and Ben gives her a little nod as he leaves.

Finn takes a seat next to her. “Whoa. What the hell was _that_ about? What’s he even doing here?”

“He doesn’t come to the kitchen?” Another one of Rey’s weak attempts at ignorance.

“Nope!” Finn snorts. “In all my time working here, I’ve never once seen him step foot in this space. What the _heck_ did you do?”

“N-nothing?” she almost stammers, but then she realises that doesn’t sound too good. “Well, I screwed up on this file I gave him the other day. He needs it fixed up in the next few days.”

"And that forced him out of his little man cave?” and Finn whistles. “ _Shit_. Must be pretty bad.”

“Oh, fancy seeing you guys here!” Rose’s voice floats in. “Was looking for you earlier.”

 _Why the fuck is everyone looking for me?_ Rey groans. _I am on a fucking break!_ “Why has taking a breather in the kitchen suddenly become an occasion?” she grumbles under her breath.

“Babe, you absolutely missed a _show_ earlier,” Finn quips. “Hell spawn Solo came in. Walked all the way _here_ —yeah, I _know_ right? Just to speak to Rey about some dumb file she fucked-up up on. You believe that? That’s fucking insane!”

“ _Really_?” and Rose slides into the other chair. “How did that happen?”

Rey sighs. _Right, screw the break then_.

* * *

“Whatever happened to getting another weekend job?” Kaydel asks Rey one day.

“How do you mean?”

“Well, you’re still on contract, right? Paying peanuts and all?” and Kaydel raises her hand. “Don’t get me wrong. We haven’t had any issues coming up with rent, and you don’t _look_ like you’re skimping on things. Super stoked it’s going this way.”

Rey forces out a yawn to restrain herself from spilling the size of her new income. “Yeah, I’m quite swamped at the moment. Guess when it slows a little, maybe I’ll start some weekend tutoring?” and she smiles sweetly. “You think your folks can recommend me again to some of their rich friends? I’m a cheap tutor for kids.”

Kaydel snorts. “ _Stop_. Please.”

“ _What_? It’s true. I can teach maths and accounting all the way up to high school.”

“Sure, sure,” and Kaydel bites her lip. “By the way, I started seeing someone recently.”

“Oof, excellent. Tell me about him.”

“Not much to know, but he’s a nice guy. Sweeter than the usual I go for. It’s quite a nice change.”

Rey snickers. “Is that what excites people? Trying something new?”

“Oh, shut your face. I’m following your footsteps.”

“What’s _this_ gotta do with me?”

“You’ve always gone for the safe choice,” Kaydel sticks her tongue out. “Only two boyfriends your entire life _and_ in your own words; they were both dull and uninspiring.”

“The boy I was with at thirteen doesn’t count. We were just kids.”

“You mean, he was the _only_ guy who wasn’t afraid of your scary temper?”

“I _like_ my temper tantrums, thank you very much,” Rey pouted. “No one could fuck with me while I was picking myself back up.”

Kaydel softens. “Yes, sweetie. You’re a fighter and the strongest person I know.”

Rey clears her throat. “Well, if you wanna talk about _real_ relationships, then I’d say it’s only been one for me. First year of college.”

“Yeah, he was nice. I remember liking him. He used to carry your bags for you. Hold your hand as you walked across the campus. Made sure you ate your meals during exam season.” Kaydel taps her finger on her lips. “What was the reason you guys broke up?” and she breaks into a grin. “Ah yes. _Physical_ _incompatibility_.”

Rey cringes. “Did I say that?”

“Uh-huh. Two words on a breakup text. You’re cold as ice.”

“It—it’s not really a lie. Wasn’t really turned on by him. Yes, we did _stuff_ , but we only slept together a few times. And I…” and Rey inhales sharply. “Just couldn’t seem to do it again. Always felt like I was unnecessarily pushing myself. I cared about him, but you know there’s…” and she pauses before lowering her voice. “There’s something wrong with me. Like how I suddenly get paranoid and my attacks just come out of nowhere. Didn’t want him to see that side of me. You realise I never told him what happened to my parents? And why it was your folks I took pictures with during graduation?”

“But that’s how being together with someone is like. They know and understand every little part of you. The good and the bad.”

“Didn’t feel right. He didn’t feel _right_. Felt like I was gonna snuff out his happiness with all the dark shit I go through. I hid myself from him—” and Rey shakes her head. “He was basically alone in that relationship, Kay. I’m the _real_ villain for dragging it out.”

“There’s _nothing_ wrong with you. And there’s no such thing as dark shit. You just haven’t found the right person to be honest with yet," and Kaydel rubs her neck. "Let’s talk about something else. Tag along for a movie with my new boy?”

“Sure. So, how’d you meet him again?”

“Funny story,” Kaydel giggles. “Was in a hurry to get to the gallery some time back. Crossed the street without waiting for the lights, and there he was. Walking right over to slap me a ticket for jaywalking.”

“He’s a traffic cop?”

“Nah, he fucking pretended to be one. Said he _chose_ not to give me a ticket in exchange for coffee,” and she shrugs. "Found out later he’s a detective at a police station for our precinct.”

“You’re dating a cop?” Rey repeats again, half-amused. “You want him to teach you to be a good girl or something?”

Kaydel swats her shoulder. “Why don’t you find a guy to make it a double date?”

“ _What_?” Rey stiffens. “Like from some dating app?”

“Why not? You’ve been out of the dating game for _ages_. It’d be good to find someone with no strings attached. Nothing wrong with that. You’re doing it for your _own_ needs and no one else’s. You’ll have control over what you want from him.”

“You want me to find a guy to have casual sex with? I’ve a higher chance of finding a weirdo than a fuck-buddy.”

“We can meet creeps anywhere, including at standard social settings like malls or workplaces. There’s limited choices if you barely mingle, Miss Solitude.”

 _Oh, that’s so bloody true_ , Rey thinks. And her mind immediately flies straight to Ben. How forcefully he’s managed to carve a place out for himself in her space and offensively invaded into her life. Regardless that he’s her boss or not. “Well…there is _one_ guy—” and she sees Kaydel’s eyes perk up, “—who seems to have stirred something inside me lately. He’s really fucked with my head, if I’m being totally honest.”

“Err, that sounds a bit…” and Kaydel raises an eyebrow. “Is he safe?”

“Yeah, I think so? I dunno. Don’t think he’ll harm me, if that’s what you’re getting at. He’s just a bit of a pretentious dick.”

“Someone I know? Or met?”

“ _Nope_ —” and Rey immediately pinches her nose to conceal her flaring nostrils. “Works for some other company.”

“Interesting.”

“And you know what pisses me off? Is _why_ does everything from his mouth have to sound so suggestive?”

“What? _How_?”

“He’s got this—” and Rey bites her lip to choose the words, “—deep, sexual tone in his stupid voice. Anything just sounds fucking filthy when he says it.”

Kaydel laughs hard at that. “Dirty talk. I like the sound of that. So, why don’t you find out if he’s interested to bang?”

“He’s definite _not_ ,” Rey croaks. “He’s made it quite clear that we won’t.”

“Oh? You've had the talk already?" 

Rey starts blabbering nervously, “It was just about sex in general, but when I tried to press if he had any kind of interest to do it with—with _me_ , he sorta dismissed it.”

“ _Seriously_?”

“Uh-huh. He effectively said that there are others he’d rather fuck.” The little voice in Rey’s head cusses at her, because deep down, she knows Ben didn’t _specifically_ say that. But she’s already made up her mind long ago. It's easier to go with the crueller possibility than ridicule herself with any glimmer of expectation.

“Scumbag,” Kaydel huffs.

Rey is _fine_. It doesn’t bother her much. She’s surprisingly content with her fantastic rediscovery of how effective her hands can be. If there’s at least one thing she can thank him for, it’d be waking her body up from a profound stagnation. Her brain will conjure up his voice, his touch, the visuals of him doing outright nasty things to her, and she’ll draw out an orgasm with ease. Maybe a little _too_ easy, but that will satisfy her just _fine_.

She doesn’t need any more than that.

* * *

It’s a loud crash from Ben’s division that startles Rey one day. She looks up from her computer, squinting across the floor when she notices Mitaka frantically running over. Immediately her mind rakes through the recent projects she’s done for Ben, assessing the odds if she’s fucked up something. 

“Are you available, Miss Ridley? Director Solo would like to see you in his office now.”

“Uh, sure.”

As she enters Ben’s office, she sees two figures in front of his desk with Hux glaring daggers. There’s a metal jug and a file strewn across the floor with papers scattered chaotically, and a report ripped to shreds. Ben’s standing as well, hands in his pockets while staring out the windows behind his table.

Mitaka knocks on the door to get their attention. “Miss Ridley is here.” After he closes the door, Rey recognises the two individuals as Manager Tamara Ryvora and her associate, Jace Rucklin, both throwing her seething looks when she emerges beside them. 

Hux speaks first, “What the fuck do we do now? Client’s threatening to pull us out from this deal. Do we go back in and—”

“Leave that with me,” Ben cuts him off. “We’ll head to the target’s office now. I have a good rapport with them from other transactions. They just need a little convincing so they’ll allow our team to return and recheck some documents.”

Tamara starts to speak, “I assure you; I take full responsibility for this and I’m happy to—”

“You’ve done _enough_ , don’t you think?” Ben tersely responds. “I expect you and _all_ your inadequately trained associates to handover everything you have to Miss Ridley. Give her whatever she needs to clean up your damn mess.”

Tamara seems a little stunned. “I...”

“Since you’re not capable of handling your own responsibilities, we’ll find someone who can. For all your existing projects, run them by with Hux who’ll assess if a redelegation is required.”

“But—but most of them have already been—”

Ben brusquely glares over his shoulder. “My _apologies_ , Miss Ryvora. Unless there’s been a recent change in procedure, I’m not aware that management decisions require _your_ consent.”

Rey’s stomach drops as she sees Tamara’s eyes glisten with humiliation. “Understood, Director Solo. I apologize for the inconvenience this has caused.”

“If there are no other stupid questions, both of you may get the hell out of my office.”

After they leave, Hux turns to her. “Can you head out right now? Probably just an hour or two. We’ll introduce you as one of the new leads of this project together with me.”

“Okay. That’s fine, but what about Tam and—”

“They’ll remain on the project, but we need to change up the optics of the team. The target’s unhappy with the fuck up. The client has _specifically_ told us to keep things as smooth as possible, so we’re in real shit right now.”

Rey sighs. She’s already got two other projects she’s doing for Poe, and now adding this explosive account on top of that is going to be fucking exhausting. Her eyes flick to Ben, still motionless by the window. This is the first time she’s seen him reprimand his subordinates with such severity. A vast difference from Ackbar and Poe. She feels edgy because he’s almost unrecognisable, his voice unsympathetic and unforgiving. Nothing like how he speaks to her.

She finally nods to Hux. “Sure. No problem.”

* * *

Rey has to hand it to him.

Usually Ben’s constantly drunk and obscenely lecherous when she sees him with clientele, so this is the first time she’s watching him in a professional capacity with them. He’s ridiculously persuasive when he needs to be. The way he engages those he’s trying to win over and how easily he gets them to hang onto his every word. And maybe— _just_ maybe, it might be something to do with that voice of his. Not forgetting those gestures he does with those enormous hands…

Oh _yes_ , that definitely does something to her.

They exit the office triumphantly and Hux whips out his phone, already blasting out emails to make the necessary arrangements for the next visit. “I’ll give the client a call to tell them everything’s been sorted,” he says. “Got another meeting to attend. I’m off.”

After Hux leaves, Ben glances at Rey. “Can I buy you coffee?” and he rolls his eyes. “Yes, _yes_ —you can tell them to make it just the way you like it.”

***

Ben gets Artoo to drop them at a coffee joint a few blocks from Hosnian Prime’s office, and when she makes her order, she notices Ben watching her intently. Listening carefully to every instruction she gives the barista. “Is this coffee to go?” the guy behind the counter asks her, but Ben is the one who answers, “No. We’ll have it here. Thanks.”

Rey turns to him in surprise. “It’s only three. Wouldn’t you be—”

“I have some time now,” and he quirks an eyebrow. “Unless you don’t?”

She swallows. “Nope. I’m good now, but just don’t tell Poe I’m slacking off during working hours.”

He smirks. “If anyone asks, just tell them you were with me. I promise you no one will ask further.”

As they wait to pick up their order, she spies Artoo still parked around the corner despite being told that they’ll walk back to the office. She shakes her head, astounded by how exceptionally pampered and sheltered Ben must have been. “Do you ever drive? Or you’ve always had a chauffeur your whole life?”

Ben chuckles. “I _can_ drive, but I don’t. Traffic in this city can really pop an artery. There are better areas where I can put my anger and frustration to good use.”

They pick a seat by the window, and Rey’s eyelids briefly flutter close as she enjoys the delicate rays of sun streaming through. She picks up her cup, stirring through the foam and giving a taste. She sighs contentedly. _Perfectly_ done as she wants it. Her body begins to unwind from the café’s ambience, her mind already thinking to apply for a short vacation with Kaydel. Maybe they could go for another ridiculous cross-country food trip like they did in college—

—but when she glances up, her stomach twists when she sees Ben gazing at her. His fist is casually propped under his chin, noting his entire frame looks _way_ too massive for the lumpy armchair he’s settled in that it’s almost comical.

“You like staring at people,” she mutters, avoiding his eyes.

“Not people. Just you.”

“Stop it. You _always_ turn everything I say into a joke.”

“Is that what you think I do?”

“Well, isn’t it?”

There’s another inscrutable smile before he drinks his coffee. “So, what do you think about the project earlier? You’ve seen the site. You’ve met the management. You have a rough idea of what they do.”

“Should be fine. If most of the initial ground work has been done by Tamara’s team, should be fairly quick just to reconcile the errors. Maybe two weeks to finalise?”

Ben nods before shifting in his seat. “You mind if I ask you a personal question?"

“Oh—” Rey’s startled by the sudden change of focus. “Okay. What’s up?”

“You seeing anyone right now?”

 _What?_ “No. Why?”

“Well, you’re not bad looking. Can’t imagine you’re short of admirers.”

She frowns at him, because his tone is so absurdly casual. She could have easily mistaken him as remarking on the weather instead of prying into her social life. Was this another one of his patronizing ways to admit he thinks she’s pretty? Maybe she should have just said _yes_ , she has a cute imaginary boyfriend somewhere. Just for the kicks. “As always, you’re very _droll_ ,” is all she can muster in a witty reply—

But when her stomach rumbles and he’s vaguely amused. “Skipped your lunch today?”

“No, but I’m always hungry. I snack a lot,” and she shrugs sheepishly. “I’m pretty much a trash disposal, and the best person to bring for an all-you-can-eat buffet. I’d give them their money’s worth apparently.”

And for the first time, the toothy grin that sneaks onto his face seems surprisingly genuine. It’s nothing like the brooding, mechanical arrogance he flashes on a daily basis. Splashed across interview pages. Paraded before the camera lenses and displayed to every outsider. Neither is it the slight curl of his mouth that he often gives her to fill up the pauses between conversations. _No._ This one has something almost charmingly _boyish_ about it, and she’s beginning to wonder if this is a rare moment where she may have inadvertently glimpsed one of the mighty Ben Solo’s _real_ smile.

“So, where do _you_ usually eat? I’ve never seen you around the usual lunch spots,” and she snorts. “Pretty sure you wouldn’t be caught dead in the cafeteria where your employees go.”

“I eat at my desk. My meals are delivered for me.”

 _Jesus_. “Every day?”

“As long as I’m in office, yes.”

“You never go out?”

Ben doesn’t answer straightaway. “With who?”

“Poe brings the team out for quick bites on some occasions. How about guys from your division? Or Hux? Isn’t he like your wingman or something?”

He stifles a chortle. “Honestly, I see _too_ much of him. Lunch hour is my rare 'me time.'” And something unperceivable crosses in his expression. “Besides, I’m used to being on my own. Don’t you know? It’s lonely at the top.”

Rey feels longing ache at her chest, and she quickly clears her throat to suppress a wince.

When she doesn’t say anything, he hums, “Y'know, sometimes I think back about what you said. On the day I asked you to join me. Do you really hate what I do?” And his eyes… _those_ eyes melt right into hers until she’s faintly disoriented. “Am I _that_ despicable to you, Miss Ridley?” 

_I didn’t know you then_ , she thinks. _I still don’t._ The man behind the mask remains an enigma, but if he’s just talking about his professional image, well, then—

“No, not really. You’re only horrible for just seven days a week.”

He gives out a small laugh, his head shaking with mirth. 

She looks down at the cup in her hands. “Can I say something?”

“Sure.”

“You were too rough on Tamara earlier. I’ve seen the way your division works. Everyone is under intense pressure because of your tight deadlines. Shouldn’t be surprising that fuck-ups are happening if they’re scrambling to meet your unreasonable requests.” When Ben stays quiet, she continues, perhaps a little tactlessly. “I saw two associates crying in the ladies last week. Something about some feedback where you ripped them to shreds? They _just_ started working here a month ago. You can’t expect them to—”

“Sorry, what _exactly_ are you asking here?” Ben interrupts her.

Rey nibbles on her lower lip. “I dunno. Maybe…” and she instantly regrets this conversation. “ _Maybe_ you can try being a little nicer and less of the asshole that everyone expects from you?”

“And you think I give a damn about what anyone thinks of me?”

“No—” _but I’m weirdly starting to give a damn_ , “—I know you don’t, but I just think that it’ll create a less toxic environment. They’ll follow you out of respect. Not fear.”

His purses his lips for a second. Like he’s fighting back an impulsive response. There’s a brief drumming of his fingers on the armrest. A fleeting glance at the moving traffic outside before he looks back at her. “I’m only going to say this once. Just so we have an understanding. Firstly, that’s _always_ been the way I give feedback. Proper, detailed and structured criticism is the best way to learn—unless you’re suggesting they’d rather _not,_ and nothing should be said. Even if the report is of appalling standards. And by the way, those ladies you mentioned have _far_ more working proficiency than you in this industry. I wasn’t brought into this company to be _nice_. I don’t see any value or differentiation in saying things nicely or _not_ nicely. It’s about getting the message across.”

He leans back to cross his legs, resting an ankle on the knee. “Secondly, in regards to what happened earlier in my office, I have my own shit to deal with. Not just for my own division, but for the _entire_ organisation as a partner. So, if one of my employees say there’s a problem, I’d expect solutions as well. If you approach me with _only_ the issue, it tells me you haven’t thought about it, and you’re expecting someone else to solve it. And that someone is _me_. So, then I gotta ask—why am I fucking paying you so much if I’m doing your job for you?”

She wrinkles her nose. As much as she’s instinctively repulsed by his demanding nature, she has to grudgingly accept he has his own points. _Yep,_ Rey thinks. _And this is why I'm fucking off as soon as possible from this soul-sucking job_. 

“Come on,” he cajoles. “What are you thinking? Tell me what’s really on your mind.”

"Kinda makes me wonder if you’d treat me like that too if I ever mess up.”

Something wicked gleams in his eyes. “And what makes you think you haven’t?”

She searches his face for a moment, deliberating if he’s implying that maybe—quite possibly, he shows leniency _only_ to her. Finally, she simply mumbles, “It’s hard to tell about the feedback though…”

“Meaning?”

“You don’t really say much about my work. Can’t really do better if you don’t point out my areas of improvement.”

His gaze narrows. “It’s a little annoying I need to say this _again_. Your work has qualities I can only dream some of my team will ever reach to. And trust me, sweetheart—” he pauses, his hand sweeping across his trousers to dust off some fluff. "If I didn’t like something, you’ll most _definitely_ know it.”

Soon, Rey’s consciousness pretty much dissolves into an unknown, dark chasm where she can’t remember much of their conversation afterwards. Or much of _anything_ , for that matter. She doesn’t recall them walking back to office. Catching strange looks thrown their way when they enter the department together. Or what he says to her before she slips back into her cubicle. And _really_ , the rest of the afternoon till she leaves the office is entirely hazy—

—but she does remember the way his tone momentarily softens when he called her _sweetheart_.

And feeling his absurdly large hand almost spanning her entire waist, somehow miraculously finding its way to rest on her lower back each time they cross a street.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Got a coffee kink because I miss going for brunches since the pandemic hit! Enjoy the occasional fluff while it lasts my lovelies. Next chapter’s gonna be 💣💥🤯
> 
> As always, your feedback and thoughts on this chapter and fic will be greatly appreciated 💙
> 
> Sources:  
> [Tamara Ryvora](http://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Tamara_Ryvora)  
> [Jace Rucklin](http://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Jace_Rucklin)


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **TRIGGER WARNINGS (PLEASE READ THIS THOUGH THERE’S LIGHT SPOILERS!!!)**  
>  As we now enter into this transition chapter and things start to become 🔥, thought it’ll be good to update the more obvious tags, so you can assess if this is still the fic for you. While there are some fluff-ish stuff now and then, this fic is inevitably going to get **darker and angsty in accordance with the drama-suspense backdrop**. You can DM me on [Twitter](http://twitter.com/pocketsofdaisy) to ask more. Ben and Rey are both multilayered characters who will need to overcome their individual issues before there’s even a possibility of them achieving a healthier HEA (woohoo!), so yes, there will be possessiveness, dominance, lots of intense confrontations and rough sex. Like, uh, arguably _pretty rough_ depending on your acceptance level but none of it is straight-up non-con/rape.
> 
> Always, always, always take care of yourself first, be safe and enjoy! 💕
> 
>  **CREDIT:** The morning scene where Ben touches Rey is inspired by the lovely fic [Transference](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23957665/chapters/59964094)

“Believe this is pretty much it,” Rey nods, her eyes scanning over the report. “Should be good to go.”

“Wonderful,” Tamara mutters. “Appreciate your approval.”

“I think you can proceed to get Director Solo’s sign-off for—”

“You can manage that just _fine_ , can’t you?” Her response is incredibly frosty. “If anyone should present him the final draft, you’d be the one for the job since you’re his precious little _aide_.”

Rey looks up, but Tamara has already turned away, her chair swivelled around to face her computer screen. Instinctively, Rey thinks she should feel annoyed for someone venting their frustrations on her. But she comprehends it’s nothing personal, acknowledging that Tamara’s been having a rough couple of weeks with heaps of her projects being taken up by Hux. And for Ben to openly reprimand her, and subsequently requesting Rey—someone with comparatively far less experience to re-examine the work she’s done…

Well, that’d drive just about anyone furious.

“Sure. Happy to do that for you, Tam,” Rey responds kindly. She gathers the necessary items, clipping them together, and strolls towards Ben’s office. She stands in front of Mitaka’s desk, waiting until he’s off the phone. “Is he available? Just need him to review this and execute his signature.”

“He came in about an hour ago and cancelled all his morning meetings, but…” and he gives her a _peculiar_ glance. “Since it’s you, don’t think he’d mind. You can try to see if he’s up.”

“Um, I can come back later if—”

“This is the priority account from Miss Ryvora’s team, right? If yes, suggest you go on in. He’s waiting for it.”

Rey scratches her jaw. There's a weary exhale before she carefully knocks, pushing the door to peek in. He’s not at his desk, so her eyes travel around the room, finally spotting him in repose across his sofa set. He’s fallen asleep with his glasses on while a number of industry reports are scattered atop the coffee table. She raps on the door again, but Mitaka clears his throat meekly, waving at her to just _go in_. Closing the door behind her, the sound of the latch stirs him, his eyes cracking open as he turns to look. 

“Sorry, Director Solo. Mitaka says you’re waiting for…” and her voice trails off when he nods groggily, signalling for her to approach him. She takes a pen off his table before walking over, standing over him as she shuffles through the documents to arrange it across the table—

—but when she peers down, she catches him staring at her legs, eyeing the hem of her wrap dress that falls just where her shin starts. Her pulse flutters when his arm that hangs off the side of the settee slowly reaches out, lifting the fabric till his knuckle traces circles on her knee. When his eyes flick up to hers, she swiftly moves away, settling down on the sofa where his feet doesn't reach.

“ _Don’t_ do that,” her voice is soft. “Someone could walk in and get the wrong idea.” And she quickly clears her throat. “This is Tam’s Fireball project. If you’re okay with the final mark-up, you can sign-off.”

He smirks before yawning, sitting up to crack his neck. He twirls the pen in his fingers, clasping a hand over his mouth as he proficiently skims through the paperwork. Rey taps her foot as she waits next to him. On most days, she's never alone with him in his office, so this is a rare, unfamiliar situation. Somehow, she can't shake the feeling that he’s intentionally taking his time. With each instance where he flips through the notes or reaches for something, he's inching closer to her.

“Late night?” she asks him when he yawns again while scrawling his signature.

“Mhmm.”

She snorts. “Maybe it's way past your bedtime. Getting a little too _old_ for partying, huh?” But she _immediately_ regrets opening her mouth when he turns, his irises obsidian.

“In my defence, I _do_ say that. But they have this desire to push me above my limit to go all night long. And you know me—I _never_ back down from a challenge.”

She huffs, averting her gaze. Horny idiot.

He chuckles. “Just kidding. I’m so much older than _you_ at least. It does take me longer to recover now than when I was twenty.” And he extends his hand, smoothing away a strand of her hair, his voice unusually quiet when he continues, “You’re so young, Rey. So smart, so brilliant, so…” and his index finger softly trails down from her shoulder to her elbow.

She blinks at him, her blush creeping up on her. Why is he doing this?

Is he…?

 _No, don’t kid yourself,_ she thinks. Tamara’s words might be harsh, but she’s likely dead-on about Rey’s relationship with Ben. She’s nothing more than his assistant. A trophy employee to boast about, who does what he wants without question, and has inexplicably similar skills as he does. That’s the only explanation for his _interest_ , and once she leaves this job, he’ll probably want nothing to do with her. That’s okay. The feeling will be mutual. Eventually.

He’s probably some kind of sadist too, getting fucked-up gratification from messing with her. But if there’s a few things she’s good at, it’s burying her emotions, so he _can’t_ possibly know how she’s grown to feel about him.

Does he?

A knock makes her spring backwards, the door creaking open, and Mitaka’s voice floats in—something about several afternoon meetings, a dinner conference and that Artoo’s already parked at the reception. Ben gets up, stretching himself and heads to his desk to keep away his glasses before pocketing his phone and wallet. “Good work closing this off. Leave everything there. I’ll get Mitaka to file it up and pass it to Hux.”

“Sure.”

He slips on his jacket. “Working late tonight?”

“Likely. Got a few things to close off by next week.”

“There’s two potential new accounts I’d like you to review before I assign them. Mitaka will get the folders ready for you shortly. Not urgent. Just want to get the ball rolling.”

“Yep. Okay.”

Ben arches an eyebrow inquisitively, buttoning up his sleeves. “I don’t give you too much, do I?”

She rolls her eyes at his ridiculous question. “Not at _all_. You’re incredibly kind, considerate and reasonable.” 

He lips curl slightly, but just as his palm rests on the door handle, he stops to squint at her, examining her appearance. “Is this new?”

“What is?”

“This dress. I’ve not seen it before.”

“Oh—err, yes,” and she bites the inside of her cheek. “But it’s not expensive or anything. I bought it on my own card. And it’s well within my—um, _basic_ salary.”

He tilts his head. “No need to explain yourself. Whatever I’ve given you, you’ve earned it,” and he gives her a curiously warm smile. “You _deserve_ whatever you want, Rey. You’re worth all of it.” And he turns the handle, holding open the door with an arm—

“After you.”

* * *

“Okay, I’m calling it a day!” Poe exclaims, shutting his laptop screen and standing up.

“Cool. Have a good night, Poe,” Rey nods to him before she continues to type away at her keyboard.

Poe whistles pleasantly as he packs his stuff up, switching off his desk lamp. He slings his bag over his shoulder and stops just in front of her desk. “Hey, you’re not seeing anyone, right?”

She looks up startled. "Why?”

“Nah, don’t get me wrong. Was just thinking of introducing you to a friend of mine, but only if you’re interested,” and he grins. “Casual thing. Dinner and drinks with a few. You game?”

Rey pauses, chewing the inside of her cheek. She _technically_ is single, and there’s no harm in just meeting new people. “Sure. Just lemme know,” and she shrugs quickly before she could change her mind. But why is she feeling weirdly… _disloyal_?

“Don’t stay too late, champ. The subway here can get pretty rough at this hour.”

“Yup, leaving soon.”

About twenty minutes after Poe leaves, she dumps the last batch of reports in her cabinet, locking it up. She checks her watch and draws in a sharp breath. It’s close to nine. Truthfully, she _has_ been exhausted lately, but she wasn’t one to whinge openly. Kaydel’s been giving her an earful, telling her if she kept this up, she’d burn out really quick.

And Rey’s mind has been in complete _pandemonium_ since the morning. She props her chin on her hands, staring blankly at her laptop screen as she waits for it to power down. Sure, she could multitask throughout the day, but Ben dominated her thoughts. More so than before.

He said she’s _worth_ everything—but to who?

To the company?

Or to him?

Her phone buzzes her out of the daydream.

As she packs her bag, she suddenly _remembers_. She hadn't taken the new files that Ben assigned her from Mitaka’s desk.

 _Shit, shit, shit._ She drops her stuff on the desk and sprints across the floor. Leaving highly restrictive files on your desk overnight is one of the _worst_ things that can happen, usually ending with severe consequence management or even termination of employment. Misplacing confidential information is a serious offense, and Amilyn ensured this was reiterated at least _five_ times during the orientation. But when she reaches Ben’s division, she realises two things—

First, the files aren't on Mitaka’s desk.

Second, Ben’s office door is slightly ajar, the lights dimly lit.

 _Oh fuck_ , she thinks. She crouches a little, almost crawling towards Mitaka’s cubicle, secretly hoping he’d kept it away before he left. She slides behind his table and fumbles around the dark. She’s seen Mitaka drop his cabinet keys into one of the stationery holders before. While _technically_ he wasn’t supposed to do that, as long as you don’t get caught during desk checks, no one gives a shit. She locates the keys and goes through the cabinets for files labelled with her name. Her hands frantically search through every box, every tray and every damn pile of unfiled documents that Mitaka had lazily chucked into dusty corners.

Nothing.

“Looking for something?”

Her blood instantly freezes. She slowly peeks up to see Ben standing by his door, swirling a drink of whisky in his hand. His suit jacket is off again, the top few buttons of his shirt undone. He takes a sip from the glass, nonchalantly waiting for her to respond. But the smugness on his expression is evident.

“Y-yes—” she actually stutters. “Something I was supposed to take from…”

She wonders why she even bothers. He knows _exactly_ what she’s looking for. He shakes his head reproachfully and motions at her to follow him. As he disappears back inside his office, she counts to ten in her head before quietly clearing away Mitaka’s things, dropping the keys back to where she found them. She straightens her clothes and flattens the little hair strands, preparing herself for a shitstorm—

But when she walks in, he's sitting back at his desk and finishing his whisky in one go. “Shut the door,” he says, placing the glass down.

“But there isn’t anyone—”

“Close the door. And lock it.”

She pushes her back against the door and reaches down to turn the knob. Her body’s already trembling with exhilaration from this, and she wants to slap herself for being drawn to something so clearly wrong. There’s no one else in the office, so why _else_ would he need to do this? Other than to…

“Come here.”

“Is everything okay? I can hear you just fine from—”

“Come _here_ , Miss Ridley. You trust me, don’t you?”

 _I do_ , she thinks. _But I don’t trust me_. Her legs wobble as she goes over, and she lets out a tiny yelp as he pulls her to stand between his open thighs. He looks up at her, his hand combing through her hair that she’s worn in a half-updo today. There’s a heat that’s creeping onto her cheeks, fanning down to her neckline, and she wants nothing more than to tear her heart out.

“You’re burning up.”

“ _What_ —” her voice cracks clumsily. “I mean—what are you still doing here? It’s already nine.”

“Came back to take a video conference. Felt like having another glass or two after.”

“You high?”

“High on you?”

“So bloody cheesy when you’re drunk,” she mumbles irritably.

“I’m sober enough.”

She gives out a snort, perhaps a little more inelegant than she wanted, but her breath catches when he lifts both her arms to his shoulder, drawing her closer. Their lips are so close. _Too_ close. She smells the whiff of the sweet whisky rolling off him. 

“ _Fuck_ —” his tone gruff, a hint of inexplicable desperation. "I want to kiss you again. Can I?”

Dead. That’s how her insides feel when she hears those words. _No, he bloody can’t!_ “You—you’re my boss,” she whispers. “It will—”

“We both know I’m more than that.”

“You’re _definitely_ high. You won’t say such things if you weren’t.”

“Do you want me to?”

She swallows. “It doesn’t matter what I want. It— _this_ will change—”

“Answer the question. Forget everything else. Do _you_ want me to kiss you?”

It’s bad enough he’s paying for whatever she wants. Holding her hand, pecking her cheek, has highly inappropriate conversations with her, and assaults her with his smouldering silences. If she allows him to do this now, they can never go back to the way they were. But she finds herself giving a barely-there nod. She fucking nods like a fucking imbecile and she’s wondering why she's doing this to herself. _You know why_ , the little voice in her head sneers. All because his voice is beguiling and she clearly has _zero_ self-control about him.

It’s too late now, because his gaze instantly glints with a newfound desire at her approval, his palm tracing up her back to bring her down towards him.

And when they finally touch, her body becomes a living flame.

Her fingers immediately bunch up into the fabric of his shirt, her mind struggling to stay afloat. The kiss starts out chaste. Oddly _innocent_ if she thinks about it, because his lips just press against hers, but that alone is sending shockwaves up her spine. He smells _so_ good; it's making her dizzy again—

—but when he sucks her bottom lip into his mouth, her eyelids fly wide open. She flinches back in shock, but he holds her firmly. Her stomach twists when he gets up, his complete height towering over her. Both palms cup her face, backing her against his desk, and her body’s completely paralysed.

She can’t seem to move. React. Respond.

He extends a digit to trace her lower lip, his tawny irises following the pathway he swipes across. Almost as if he’s hypnotised himself.

“ _What_ —what are you…?” she’s barely audible.

“Don’t be afraid,” he reassures her gently. “I feel it too.”

Her eyes flutter close when he kisses her again, this time with more urgency. There’s an intensity from him that she’s shockingly submissive to. In the way he captures her mouth, or the way his teeth nips at her. And when his tongue slides in to stroke her own, her hands grip hard at the table’s edges as she instinctively kisses him back. This can’t be happening. She cannot be making out. Not here. Not with him—

But it’s her phone’s buzzing in her dress pocket that briefly breaks this fervour. Her hands fly up to tug at his wrists to gasp out, “ _Ben_ —my roommate is—”

That _clearly_ must have been the wrong thing to say, because he immediately grabs her ass, lifting her onto his desk. He pushes up the lengths of her dress almost to her waist, wedging himself between her legs. A hand snakes around her nape and his mouth is on hers once more, crushing her against himself effortlessly. It doesn’t help either that he’s _so_ much stronger than she is. Something carnal clenches painfully amid her thighs as his thumb caresses her cheek; his lips consuming her deliciously, deeply and magnificently.

“Seeing you in this dress today—” he breathes, “—took every fucking ounce of restraint not to just take you _right_ there and…” but he holds back from finishing.

She can’t seem to tear herself away. _More, more, more,_ her blood sings. She _loves_ this. She loves how he tastes. She loves how he feels. She loves how he kisses her. She loves the way he touches her. She loves how her body answers to him. Every fucking thing. It feels so wrong, but so electrifying at the same time because this forbidden little ecstasy that takes Ben Solo’s form is clouding her rationality.

This is everything.

 _He_ is everything.

And he’s far too intoxicating to her senses. 

“Go ahead, Rey,” he murmurs between kisses. “You can touch me anywhere you want.”

She’s completely possessed, because she can’t stop herself, her own hands sliding pass the opening of his shirt to rest on his clavicles. She trembles when he heaves out a low, pleasured sigh. Just the _sheer_ feel of the heat from his skin beneath her fingertips is so dangerously addictive.

“Ever since you—I can’t stop thinking about…” his words are an incoherent string of drunken nonsense that she’d rather brush off as things he can’t possibly mean. “I want you. So, so, fucking badly. Just let me—just once... _fuck_!”

_Oh God, oh God, oh God—_

She whimpers as his forearm wraps at her waist, dragging her till she’s completely restrained to him. Until their hips meet and his crotch presses at her centre. She can feel him _there,_ and it threatens to send her into a summit she won’t come down from. He’s almost ravaging her now. His mouth slants over hers with such an intense hunger while she fights back a vicious urge to start grinding against his erection. _Don’t you fucking do it_ , she warns herself. She thinks she’s about to pass out when his hand starts to lightly trace her breast. A tiny moan escapes her, and it sends ripples up her body when he starts to knead. She’s going to perish in an excruciating, stunning and delectable death right here.

“ _Ah_ —please—” she hears herself cry as she liquefies into his arms.

“Shh,” he croons.

Her eyes screw shut as he moves back down to her waist, his fingers delicately tugging at where she’s tied a knot for her dress’s belt. _He’s really doing it_ , she realises as he pulls it loose, the strap falling atop the table. _Is this it?_ she wonders. Is this how their first-time will be? Surrendering to some reckless, primal need to fuck each other in the darkness of his office with scotch in his veins and her obvious, biological incapability to resist him?

He slides up to reach the zip below her nape, kissing her again. “I’ll take care of you, Rey. I’ll take care of you so well.”

And the last of her defences fall, her resistance finally crumbling to a single brain cell left in her sanity. Narrowing everything down to just him, here and now.

 _Okay_ , she whispers to herself.

***

“Solo!” Hux’s voice abruptly slurs from the other side of the door. “What the _fuck_ are you doing in there? Everyone’s at the Finalizer waiting for us!”

The feverish haze that engulfs them in his office is brutally disrupted, alike being tossed under a cold shower in the middle of a blissful slumber. She’s the first to yank herself away from his lips, but when she tries to shove him away so she can break free from this unseemly position, he doesn’t allow it, tightening his grasp.

“I’ll be right out,” Ben snaps. “Artoo is parked near the reception. Just wait for me there.”

“Hurry up!’ Hux groans. “I’m not going without you.”

Ben clicks his tongue in irritation, resting his forehead against hers, both breathless from their ardent exploits. Each time she thinks he’s letting her get off the table, he only snatches her for another messy kiss, turning it into a quiet struggle to get him to quit fucking around. But he’s ridiculously playful, and she's buckling under his attentions.

There’s something different in his gaze now. Something raw and frighteningly insatiable, and he continues to look at her with that same greed when she’s adjusting her outfit, hastily tying back her belt. She waits for him to say something about what just happened.

 _Anything_ —

But once she’s presentable, Ben merely opens the door and Hux sways in.

“ _Oh_ —” he garbles with insobriety. “Ridley? Hello. You coming along?”

She watches Ben grab his jacket off his chair and slip it on. After placing a set of keys in her palm, he habitually reaches over to sweep at her loose strands, but when she angrily slaps his hand away, he smirks. “I’ve kept the files you’re looking for. That’s just sloppy. Forgetting elementary operational procedures. Also, I’m not in tomorrow, so I’ll get Mitaka to give the files _directly_ to you. Please lock up my office tonight and he’ll take the keys back when he sees you.”

She presses her lips together tightly, glaring heatedly before giving him a stiff nod.

He nods back, a roguish flicker in his eyes. “Good night, Miss Ridley.”

After he leaves, she takes a deep breath to calm herself. She touches her mouth, realising how he’s likely bruised them. She does the required; locking up his office and clearing away what’s needed at her cubicle. She checks her phone and texts Kaydel back.

She taps her foot as she waits for the elevator. She doesn’t want to be angry, because she wanted him as well, but every molecule within her naturally prickles in anger with the unkind reality that he’s likely now off to his next amusement. And she’s probably just _one_ of them.

How dare she let herself give in to her ridiculous, destructive desires. No one fucks with her this way, her motherfucking boss or not.

Entitled little piece of shit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmm, some popcorn? 🍿  
> As always, feedback and thoughts about this chapter and the fic will be much appreciated! 💙
> 
> Sources:  
> [Fireball](http://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Fireball_\(starship\))


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **WELCOME EVERYONE TO THE ANGST! WE HAVE ARRIVED!** The comments and support you guys give me makes me SOOO EMOTIONAL I LOVE YOU ALL SERIOUSLY 💙💙💙 Love hearing from you xxx
> 
> There’s an introduction of a Resistance series character here. While in canon, this individual is actually just a year older than Rey, for the purpose of the plot, I’ve made the age closer to Ben and Poe’s range. 
> 
> **WARNINGS:** References to unhappy childhood and remarriage.

Rey steers clear of Ben immensely after the incident. She wasn’t mad at him anymore, but she thinks it’s because she’s pissed off at herself more than anything.

Any documents requiring his sign-off, she passes it through Mitaka. She avoids staying late and makes a point to come in ridiculously early. If she catches a trace of Ben nearby, she’ll make any excuse to go straight into the kitchen or pop to the ladies. It’s absurdly childish and moronic, but fuck it, she desperately wants _any_ kind of space from him right now.

She had one missed call and a message from Ben that weekend.

But she never did. And he didn’t try to reach out again either.

She _knows_ she’s being spiteful, largely because she’s a little hurt and her emotions are all fucked-up. Maybe if he called her that night after he left her behind, things might have been different. But life wasn't that fair, and she couldn’t stop feeling that she's just an afterthought for him. She's also strangely fortunate, as Poe places her on two engagements for the next three weeks, so she wasn’t in the office for extended stretches. But it's becoming harder to be oblivious, painfully conceding that she’s allowing the distance between Ben and her to grow even more.

She didn’t say a word about it to Kaydel, and only mentions she’s frustrated because of some crap at work. 

Treacherous, infuriating, mind-fucking, complicated crap.

* * *

“Dinner and drinks tonight?” Rose asks Rey one day as they get ready to leave. 

“Oh. Sure.”

“My treat. You’ve been crazily amazing, so just a token of appreciation from myself.”

“Aww, thanks Rose. You really don’t have to.”

“I _want_ to, but you won’t mind there’ll be someone else joining, though?”

Rey pauses. “Ah. I don’t really wanna intrude if it’s a—”

“Oh God, no. It’s not a _date_ ,” Rose grins. “It’s actually a mutual friend I share with Poe. They used to be from the same school or something, and if I remember correctly, Poe’s his senior. Just some catch-up drinks. We try and meet up when we can because he’s rarely in the country.”

Rey wrinkles her nose. “Sounds like it should be more of a personal thing?”

“No. Don’t be annoying. _Come_!”

***

Rey gives in eventually. She didn’t have other plans, and Kaydel's working late tonight, so there's no one home. The restaurant turns out to be a rather classy tapas kitchen in the city, though she’s never been one to care about the frills and awards that eateries are bestowed. Her filter’s usually the exorbitant prices.

As they stand at the bar with their glasses of wine, Rose turns to Rey. “So, how long’s it been since you started? Seems ages now.”

“Six-months on the dot, actually,” Rey suddenly realises.

“What’s gonna happen to your contract? Are they extending you or giving you a full position?”

Rey shrugs. “I dunno. No one’s said anything to me.”

“Well, what did Solo say? He’s _mentoring_ you, isn’t he? Fucking ridiculous if you ask me. Don’t see why you’d need a teacher considering your quality of work.”

Rey blinks, realising Rose has a point. She hadn’t really sat down with Ben to discuss on the plan once her initial contract is up. And he _did_ say that he’d be the one deciding when she's 'ready', but at this point, Rey wonders if he’s ever going to let her go. _Maybe he will now_ , she thinks. Surely even _he_ —as unchallenged as he may be—still abhors any kind of damaging office-drama with a junior co-worker.

“Haven’t really thought about it,” and Rey quickly changes the topic. “Is Poe coming?”

“Supposedly. Said he may drop by later, but no promises as he’s got a date.”

While Rey’s beginning to wonder if this is actually the dinner setup that Poe offered as an introduction to his friend, she couldn’t help but smile about him being on a date. The sneaking around that Poe and Finn do in the office is _pretty_ adorable. And they seem so comfortable and blissful in their own little world. 

“Do you think Finn’s seeing anyone?” Rose suddenly sighs. “Been trying to figure out for ages now if he’s single, but he doesn’t say shit.” Rey nibbles her lip nervously, the hair on her neck instantly prickling as she sips from her glass. Thankfully, Rose doesn’t seem to notice as she continues, “Do you think he’s cute?”

“Who? Finn?”

“Yup.”

“Umm, yeah. He’s not bad. Definitely does attract a second look.”

“Do you think he’d go for someone like me?”

“Uh…” and Rey clears her throat. “Well, you both have been friends for a long time, right? Any idea what’s his type?”

“He _always_ avoids the topic when I bring it up. Who knows? Maybe he’s already got a someone and I’m just being an idiot. Stupidly hoping he’ll ask me out instead.”

Rey softens. “How long have you felt this way about him?”

“A year, maybe? Haven’t really got the guts to tell him, because if he doesn’t feel the same way, I dunno if I can handle it fucking up our current status. Still trying to weigh the options of fuck-it-just-do-it or continue appreciating what we already have.”

“That’s a tough call for anyone to make.”

“I’ve just always fallen for friends, y'know? Never really been the type for love at first sight. Or get swept up in some crazy, lovesick affair.”

“Yeah, I get that.” And genuinely, Rey actually _does_ get it, because she used to be that way too. So, she wonders now why she’s grown such bizarre emotions for Ben Solo. Someone she hardly knows anything about.

Rose sniffs. “I wish I had it easy like my older sister. Paige has always been the star of my family. Fantastic grades, cute, and has zero boy issues.”

A sharp bitterness abruptly flows through Rey. At least Rose _has_ a family she can compare herself to.

“Kaz!” Rose suddenly yells, waving to someone over Rey’s shoulder. “Over here!”

Kazuda Xiono turns out to be a cheerful, dark-haired guy who works as a cargo pilot for the country’s largest shipping and logistics corporation. He’s got a boyish sort of good-looks and a pleasant grin, and he instantly reminds her of a younger, clumsier version of Poe. When he laughs, it resounds a strange warmth within her. Like the sun reaching in to illuminate a bottomless cave. One of the waiters finally informs them that they are ready to be seated, but as they head to their table, Rose suddenly tugs on Rey’s sleeve—

“Hey, isn’t that _Solo_?” she hisses.

Rey’s skin crawls instantly. _For fuck sake._ She refuses to look up, dragging Rose along with her to their seats with Kazuda trailing just behind. She couldn’t believe her dumb luck. Were there no other bloody restaurants available in this city? She could already feel her face getting hot and she snatches the menu from her plate, shielding herself which leads to Rose briefly raising an eyebrow.

“You okay?” Kazuda smiles at her as the waiter tells Rose about today’s specials.

“Oh, yes. Just a little nervous when it comes to ordering in places like these. I don’t eat out much.”

“Me too,” and he grins. “I’m mostly on aircraft catering anyway. But you’re in luck, because I’ve been here a couple of times, so allow me to order for you.”

Rey blinks, slightly taken aback by his chivalry. “Oh. That…that’s nice of you.”

“Any allergies?”

“None that I know of.”

As Rose and Kazuda began to scan through the dishes and pick out a bottle of wine, Rey fidgets under the table with her fingers. Her foot starts to tap nervously on the floor, taking in another large gulp of her wine. But she finally gives in, and peers up to glance at Ben, sitting a few tables away at the bar together with Hux, another man and three other ladies. Her pulse flutters seeing him again, her mind reliving the moment when his mouth—his _nonsensically_ distracting lips commandeer hers. And the way his massive hands grip her body like he fucking owns her. She shakes her head to shelve any further thoughts.

Ben’s party hadn’t noticed them and she watches two girls giggle at something he says, her goosebumps rising when one of them places a hand on his thigh. _Such a fuckboy_ , she swears under her breath.

The night goes on pretty well once she blocks out the image of him. Rose met Kazuda at Poe’s barbeque a few years ago when one of Rose’s friends tried to hit on him. While that didn’t turn out so well, Rose and Kazuda got along pretty decent and kept in touch. He also shared funny, heart-warming stories of Poe. Most of it involved Poe getting Kazuda into trouble and subsequently out of trouble at school. She got to know that being a pilot was _also_ Poe’s first career choice, but after his mother passed away, he decided not to take up a job that would force him to leave his widowed father behind.

The flow of drinks continued throughout the dinner and very soon, both Kazuda and Rose started flushing, becoming somewhat tipsy while Rey’s been taking it slow enough to remain solid. She wasn’t going to make the same, stupid mistake by getting wasted on a co-worker night out _again._ But while Kazuda looks around for their server to refill their water glasses, he turns his head to Ben’s direction in wonder—

“Hey, is that…” and he squints. “Is that Benjamin Solo?”

Rose arches an eyebrow. “ _What_? You mean—”

Kazuda gets up from his chair. “Be right back, ladies.”

Rey’s mouth immediately goes dry. How fucking small can the world be? _Why_ does this always seem to happen to her? She finishes the last bit of her wine, pouring more into her glass to distract herself.

“Now I feel awkward,” Rose mumbles.

“Why?”

“Well, they’re looking over here now. Shit. _Don’t_ point, Kaz. _God_ , I hope he doesn’t bring Solo over. Hate running into management outside of work.”

Rey shrugs, the booze mollifying her moods.

“Why do jerks tend to be attractive?” Rose muses, her tone laced with mild drunkenness.

“I thought you and Finn said he’s an unapproachable menace?”

“Yeah—well, he _still_ is. But sadly he’s fucking handsome too, if you’re into those tall and intensely brooding types. He’s got a fantastic side profile. You haven’t noticed?”

Rey shakes her head a little too quickly. “I suppose he does have a very…memorable face.”

“ _Memorable_?” Rose hoots with laughter. “Nah, he’s always been hot. Some people just take longer to realise it because he’s a nasty piece of work.” And she shrugs absentmindedly. “And…I gotta pee.”

“You’re leaving me here by myself?”

“Relax. Won’t be longer than five minutes,” Rose hiccups before promptly getting up.

Luckily, Kazuda comes back to the table a few seconds later. _Alone_. “Slipped my mind that besides Poe, both of you _also_ work in the same company as Ben. Small world, huh?”

“ _Too_ small,” Rey mumbles. “How did such a sweet guy like you know such an asshole like him?”

Kazuda laughs before shaking his head. “Ben’s a childhood friend. Our family home is in the same estate, just outside of the city. My dad’s a senator as well, so he worked closely with Leia Organa-Skywalker when she was still alive. My dad and Ben’s dad are still pretty close till today, so I see the Solos during the holidays.” And he pauses for a few seconds. “Not so much Ben though. He rarely goes back home. Y'know...with him being really sought after in the financial industry.”

 _Same as Ben’s family?_ she thinks. _Another rich kid._ And family topics have always been particularly sensitive for Rey, and while she’s learnt to manage the emotions over the years, remnants of acrimony occasionally still resurface. She finds herself a tiny bit snarky with her reply. “Why? Shouldn’t be a reason not to return to see his family when he clearly has time for other _amusements_.”

Kazuda shrugs as he takes another sip of the booze. “Not really my place to say,” but he slants his head at her warmly. "Well, since you asked so nicely, I’m thinking it’s been that way since his father remarried.”

Rey blinks, her mouth parting slightly. When she finally speaks, her voice is quiet. “Ben has a stepmom?”

“Yeah…” Kazuda’s tone resounds with a gentle commiseration. “I must’ve been about eight or nine when it happened. Not long after his mom passed away, so it was _quite_ a scandal among our community.”

Rey could sense that Kazuda’s relatively sloshed like Rose too, hence his unexpected willingness to divulge such private affairs with her. And while she feels horrid for taking advantage of it, her natural curiosity about Ben is pushing her to claw for more. “So…does she live with Ben’s dad?”

“Still does. Saw her last Christmas when we did some visiting," and he gives a small smile. “I know it doesn’t seem like it most of the time, but Ben’s actually not all that bad. He’s just… _selective_ with what he allows people to see.”

There’s a painful devastation that’s tearing through her even as she continues to be dismissive. “He _still_ has a family who loves him and gives a damn about him.”

Kazuda scratches his chin. “Well, he didn’t exactly have the easiest childhood. Even before his mother died. You’d expect a kid with a background like him to have a peach life, but until today, my mom _still_ says she has yet to meet a lonelier child than Ben Solo.”

Rey swirls her wine, trying to stop herself from remembering the photographs she once saw of an angry ten-year-old boy who stood by his mother’s casket. _No,_ she tells herself. _Don’t think about him that way. He’s probably a very different person today._

“Rey?” Kazuda’s voice interrupts her thoughts.

“Hmm?”

“Don’t take this the wrong way—” and Kazuda rubs his neck bashfully, “—but you have a really nice smile.”

Rey’s cheeks instantly pool with heat, and as she tries to hold back a tiny grin, she notices Kazuda’s starting to blush too.

***

“Well, that was fun!” Rose stretches outside the restaurant. “When are you back again, Kaz?”

“Probably in the next month or so? I’ll text you,” and he looks at Rey. “You should come again too.”

Rose glances from Kaz to Rey, and then back to Kaz again. “ _Okay_ , I’ll be heading off you two. I’m taking the subway from here.” And she leans in to give Kazuda a hug. “See you around, buddy.”

“How you getting home?” Kazuda asks her after Rose leaves.

“Uber.”

“I can give you a lift home if you want? I’ve got someone—”

“I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about me. You just get home safely.”

“Could I have your number?” Kazuda blurts out, undeniably turning bright red now. “Y'know, just to keep in touch and, um, let you know when I’m back. So—so that we can meetup with Poe and Rose again? I—I mean just as friends, don’t worry. I won’t be sending creepy texts or anything. I’m mostly in the air anyway and stuck at crappy time zones. So, I won’t be like—”

“Sure,” Rey laughs, a little tickled by his awkwardness. After exchanging numbers, she curses, “ _Shit_ —I left my jacket behind my chair.”

“I’ll get it,” Kazuda chirps. “Stay right here.”

As she watches him literally skips his way inside, she shakes her head fondly. He reminds her of her ex back in college. The hearth of the fireplace in a snowstorm, and it wraps her comfortably, telling her everything is going to be okay. She feels a tiny smile creeping on her face as she reminiscences about it.

“On a date?”

Rey flinches from the deep baritone voice shattering her thoughts, and when she turns to the tiny alley by the entrance, her smile instantly drops. Ben’s standing by himself against the wall with a cigarette, the rest of his companions not too far off behind. He’s glaring at her with his usual sullen expression, and _now_ that she’s seeing him up-close and hearing his voice again, her heart sinks when she’s forced to acknowledge what she’s trying so desperately to bury away—

She misses him.

“Doesn’t really concern you, does it?” she snaps before she can stop herself.

He takes a long, final drag from his stick before stubbing it out and closing the distance between them, his tall frame dwarfing her. He eyes narrow, unyielding and pitiless when he queries softly, “Are you avoiding me?”

She refuses to answer. She doesn’t want him to have the satisfaction of knowing that he’s affected her, so she chooses to meet his stares with a quiet insolence.

His jaw clenches. “ _Stop_ ignoring me like a fucking child and answer the damn question.”

She hates the way he’s looking at her. Making her feel like she’s doing something so catastrophically wrong. As if she’s unfaithful to him and now he’s hurt. She fiercely fights back every urge to touch him. To not give in and propel herself into his arms because the void growing within her does want him. _All_ of him and nothing less—

But she’s not his. He’s not hers.

Maybe they both share the blame for that night, but they don’t belong to each other in _that_ way. They don’t owe each other any explanation for their careless indiscretions with one another. And yet here they are. Consumed with her heart’s senseless yearning for him and his baffling discontent with her like a scorned lover. He’s already starting to shake his head with livid disappointment from her persistent silence, his lips pressed into a stiff, furious curve—

But before she could open her mouth, Kazuda comes back and gently drapes her jacket over her shoulders. “Sorry! Had to wrestle with the waiter for this. They were _just_ about to take it to the lost and found.” He subsequently notices Ben standing across her. “Hey, Benji! You’re still here? I assume you know Rey, right?”

Ben’s companions must have finished their smokes as they abruptly appear beside him. “Okay, we’re done!” one the ladies say, but when she sees Kazuda and Rey, she gestures to them. “Who are they?”

Ben’s eyes are still locked on Rey’s as he responds, “Kazuda’s a family friend. The girl works for me.”

“Ah, your employee? So, you’re her boss then?”

“ _Jesus_ —” Hux finally notices the little commotion. “What a bloody small world to find you here as well, Ridley,” and he nudges Ben. “Let’s _go_ , already. I can see your chauffeur’s waiting up front.”

Rey wonders if she might have fantasized seeing a glimmer of weakness in Ben’s expression. Another blink-and-you’ll-miss-it crack forming on his inscrutable mask, and her chest tightens when she recognises _it_. He has that look in his eyes again. The very same flash of reaction from that moment in his office, when she called him a _monster_ —

But before she could scrutinise closer, he tears his gaze away from her, sharing a cordial nod with Kazuda before storming off.

***

After getting ready for bed, Rey tosses her body onto the mattress in exhaustion. She doesn’t want to care or feel hurt by any of this shit. It won’t matter for much longer anyway, because soon she’ll have enough to leave all of this behind. She just needs to be patient and endure, because just like he so clearly reminded her, she’s _just_ his employee. She turns her neck to let out an alleviating, muffled scream into her pillow.

 _Fuck him_.

She’s survived worst things, and she’ll survive this too. But it’s so much harder than she thought it’ll be. Even when she closes her eyes and tries to drift away, her mind still goes back to his accusatory stares and hostile stance. He infuriates every fibre in her body, and she wants to hate him. She _should_ hate him—

But she can’t. If Kazuda is like the sunshine, then like all bright lights, she’ll eventually turn from the glare. And when her eyes flick towards the darkness, she’ll always see Ben there. In the shadows just waiting for her. And when he offers his hand, her heart knows she’ll always take it.

Every single time.

* * *

Avoiding Ben becomes suspiciously easier. And from the way the files are shifted between them without any indication that he needed to speak to her, or the fact that he doesn't attempt to walk over when he’s in office, she’s starting to grasp that maybe he has no desire to see her any longer.

That’s fine. Absolutely just _fine_. Acceptable. More than acceptable, really. She doesn’t care. She doesn’t want to care. She _shouldn’t_.

So why does it seem to sting? She started out doing the exact same thing to him, but why does it hurt just a little _more_ now?

Some nights, her finger hovers over her phone, staring blankly at Ben’s chatbox. Wondering if she should drop him a message and say—say _what_? She wasn’t going to apologise for anything. Not for being immature. Not for being stubborn. Occasionally, she’d wish she could go back and erase everything. All the way up to the night she got drunk and he first brought her home.

Before he stole her heart away. Made her feel things about him she didn’t want to feel.

He’s an absurdly smart guy. More than she’d like to give him credit for. She resolves that he must have sensed she has some kind of… _sentiment_ for him, and he fucking took advantage of it. With that thought in mind, the phone will clatter back, sometimes a little _too_ forcefully, onto the bedside table.

He doesn’t have the right to know.

He doesn’t _deserve_ her. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before ya’ll jump me about how Rey’s behaving, she’s still relatively young and obviously…not as emotionally mature as we’d all love to be at that age. Don’t forget, canon-verse Rey also has difficulty processing her feelings and emotions for Ben. He literally had to be almost **DEAD** before she decided to confess how she truly feels about him. Also, Ben's no apple pie either, so I think he needs to be knocked down a peg or two before they go into their whirlwind ride 🖤
> 
> As always, your feedback, comments and thoughts about this chapter and fic will be much appreciated 🦋
> 
> Sources:  
> [Kazuda Xiono](http://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Kazuda_Xiono)  
> [Xiono family](http://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Xiono_family)  
> [Dameron family](http://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Dameron_family)


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short chapter, but starting to drop a crumb here or two on Rey’s past.
> 
>  **WARNINGS:** Err, so, I have decent warnings in the tags (I think?), but just another cautioning for this chapter. There’s gonna be references to a distressing traumatic past, meds for coping and an explosive showdown in which potentially nasty, rude and sexually offensive things will be said with some physically domineering behaviours. 
> 
> Enjoy! 💙

It’s a weekend. Rey’s getting ready to go to the movies with Kaydel and her new boyfriend, Temmin Wexley (or alternatively known as ‘Snap’ as he strongly suggests). She doesn’t mind being a third-wheel. She’s honestly used to it, considering she’s not one to shy away from watching movies unaccompanied.

She kept in touch with Kazuda a few times after the dinner. Finding small delights in stories of his travels, the places he’s flown to, and the people he’s met. One day, she’ll make it there too.

The movie choice however, turns out to be a terrible idea. The heroine starts out as a young, innocent girl whose parents are killed in a mysterious accident. She’s recruited by a secret society of professional assassins who tell her the death of her family is not as it seems. She seeks revenge as she uncovers a hidden connection to a shadowy villain at the centre of the storyline. Rey grips the edges of her seat the entire time, cursing herself for not bothering to check the basic plot. Or at the very least, watch the damn trailer before she agreed to this. Kaydel sympathetically touches her arm when it’s over.

As they head down the escalators, Snap jokes to Kaydel, “For someone who likes action movies, you show _zero_ interest about my _action_ -packed day.”

Kaydel shakes her head. “I thought you said you do more admin shit than fieldwork?”

“That’s true on _some_ days,” Snap shrugs. “But I do occasionally get some very interesting cases.”

As they queue at a pop-up to order smoothies, Rey drifts off, tuning in and out from their conversation. There’s something tearing inside her again. Very carefully—very painfully, an old obsession is resurfacing from the deep recesses of her mind. Despite living in a city with a population of millions, there’s an uncanny coincidence of her past having just maybe— _quite_ possibly—a connection to Ben Solo that’s slowly unsettling her. Since meeting Kazuda, she won’t deny she’s thought about it more than once. But she doesn’t know him well enough to ask him for that nature of information. And the _last_ thing she wants right now, is for Ben to find out what she's doing. 

Rey looks up. “Snap, if I asked you to look up something for me, would you?”

“Sure,” Snap nods. “Assuming it’s not extremely sensitive or classified, I can definitely do my baby’s best friend a quick favour.’ And he takes the opportunity to throw a playful wink to Kaydel.

Rey pulls out her phone, her heart faintly racing as she opens up to the article of Leia Organa-Skywalker’s funeral, showing a screenshot of the distorted individual skulking around the young Ben. “Could you find out who that is?”

“Err…” and Snap squints. “That’s quite a crap photo. You have anything else?”

“Not really. Every other angle’s a lot worse than this.”

“Right. Any other details? Is this at an event? You planning to file a missing person’s report or something?”

“Umm, no. Nothing like that. Can I take down your number and catch up from there?” 

Immediately, she sees Kaydel sharply turn to stare at her, her lips stretching into a thin line as she quietly observes Rey exchanging numbers with Snap and shooting the image over to him. She can’t keep the pretence up for long though. The moment they are back in their apartment after Snap drops them off, Kaydel’s on to her. “I _know_ that look,” she chides, following Rey into her bedroom. 

“What look?”

Kaydel’s voice heightens. “I’m _serious_. Why are you doing this? What’s happening? And don’t talk to me like I’m clueless. That pisses me off, you know that.”

Rey absentmindedly trails her finger across one of her model planes by her bedside "Having one of those weird feelings again.”

Kaydel settles on the chair by the desk. “What feeling?”

“Y'know...where I’ve been blindfolded and someone’s taunting me on my ignorance.”

“Maybe it’s just the movie that has you on the edge.”

“I _did_ consider that, but I don’t think so.”

Kaydel frowns. “What is it? What are you asking Snap to check?” And when Rey stays quiet, Kaydel shakes her head. “I’ve got all day, honey. I can wait.”

“It feels like a memory of something that's always been there. Now it's awake again, and I don’t know what it is, or what to do with it. I'm afraid because I feel like…I should be remembering something, but I can’t. I—I can’t tell if he's just a dream, or if I’ve actually seen him before.”

“Oh no…” Kaydel murmurs. “Isn’t this the same thing you told Doctor Mothma before? Remember what she told you on how to deal with it?”

Rey glares at Kaydel wordlessly before turning away.

Kaydel sighs. “How’d you come across this?”

“Uh—” Rey pauses to think for a second. “I was just doing some random research on an event that happened sometime back, and he’s in some of the shots.”

“What event?”

“Kay, please. Can I tell when you when I’m ready?”

“I’m worried about you. You’ve been doing so well for the last couple years. I just don’t wanna see you fall back into this shell where you try to pick apart everything that’s happened.”

“Maybe college was just a distraction,’ Rey says quietly. “I _can’t_ let this go. Haven’t felt this way for such a long time. There must be a reason for it.”

Kaydel briefly remains still before feebly giving in. “ _Fine_ , but can you promise me you won’t do anything else until Snap comes back with information on that guy?”

Rey nods and says nothing further.

***

That night, Rey tosses around her bed for hours before she reaches over to snatch her phone, opening up her screen to Snap’s chatbox.

* * *

Maybe Kaydel was right.

Rey senses she’s becoming unnecessarily nervous. More so than she’s been in the longest time. The shadows in her mind start to crawl out from places where she’s once locked them away. Dark corners around her seem to shift, her skin crawling as if she’s being watched—

But worst of all, the nightmares she once suffered for years after her parents death suddenly returns. She’d be coming home, reaching to get her keys to for the front door of her old house, subsequently becoming confused when she notices the door isn’t locked. Her vision’s cloudy as she enters, barely noticing there’s frightening signs of a forced entry. There's a strange smell in the air, and her instincts tell her something’s wrong, but she can only stumble up the stairs to her bedroom. But then…

 _Then_ , she sees the carnage.

For a second, her brain is unable to process what she’s looking at, but when it hits her, she throws up after falling to her knees. Her hands shake as she tries to dial for the cops, her voice escaping her, unable to force out a sound when she hears someone respond to her call on the other line. She knows she’s going to pass out soon, and just as she attempts to dial Kaydel, a monstrous hand yanks at her shoulder. And like clockwork, she wakes up screaming.

_It’s not uncommon a victim feels like there’s an external tormentor. It can be a natural response for the mind to cope with the trauma. This spectre of your imagination can only hurt you if you empower it to do so._

That’s what her old psychiatrist, Doctor Mon Mothma used to tell her in every single session. 

Very rarely, she’d dream of another instance. Where she’s wandering around the kitchen in the dark, and she sees various documents and photographs of a strange, unidentified man scattered across the counter. But before she’s able to examine closer, her father’s voice will call out to her—

“Rey?”

When she turns around, the dream always ends.

And till today, Rey’s not been able to ascertain if that was _just_ another one of her imaginations too. Maybe she never really got rid of the demons, and her familiarity with loneliness is just a reflection on why she gravitates so easily to Ben. Darkness breeds more darkness, and she unwittingly recognised that same isolation within him when he allowed the cracks to show through his mask.

She hasn’t reached for her antidepressants for ages. It calms her nerves, particularly whenever she feels inexplicably agitated or anxious. Soon enough, she finds herself standing over her bathroom sink after work, opening the mirror cabinet. She checks the expiry date on the printed inscription. Maybe she _does_ have a way to put Ben’s money to use. She tosses the bottle into the trash and picks up her phone.

Perhaps it’s time to pay a visit to therapy again.

* * *

It’s past eight on a work night when Rey’s packing up, locking away whatever she didn’t need while stacking up some urgent projects for Ben on her desk. She’ll be out of office with Finn’s team for the next few days, so she requested Ben’s spare key from Mitaka this morning. She slings her bag on her shoulder and carries the files across the department, but her heart skips when she realises that Ben’s still in his office.

_Damn it._

Well, she’d be naïve to think they could run from each other _forever_. She sighs before knocking the door, carefully pushing it open to see Ben’s at his desk, working on his laptop. He stops when he hears her come in, his eyes shift to look up—

But he doesn’t say a word.

“Apologies for the intrusion, Director Solo—” her tone miraculously coming out calmer than she feels, “—I’ve completed the drafts you requested. As I’ll be away on assignment till next week, may I file this in your…” and she tapers off when he glances back at his screen to resume typing.

 _You’re a professional, mature adult_ , she chants in her head, ignoring the wistful twinge in her chest and stands by his table. “Since you’re here, shall I give you a quick summary for each?” It’s not like she’s trying to prolong her time with this moody idiot. She’s just offering to do what she’s _always_ done for him. Nothing new. Nothing out of the ordinary.

He stops keying, taking a _long_ , irritated respire before frowning at her. Linking his fingers together, he props his chin atop it, and she realises that’s as close as she’ll get to a response from him.

She launches into the key points, not batting an eye at the unnerving silence between them. “Do you have any questions?” she asks when she's done. His head barely moves, but she’s able to establish he has none. She walks over to his large, glass cabinet to keep everything away, but when she turns to face him again, he’s already standing, his hand reaching for something through the opening of her bag she’s left on his table.

 _J_ _eez, isn’t he impatient to get you to fuck off?_ she grumbles. “You want your keys? It’s right here,” she says, sliding a hand into her skirt pocket. But her throat plummets to her stomach when he pulls out something else.

He shakes the item in his hand, the rattling of the capsules echoing throughout the room. “What’s this?”

 _Oh, no, no, no fucking hell—_

It happens within seconds. The keys drop to the floor and she’s lunging towards him to grab the bottle away. But he’s _much_ quicker, snatching back her forearm to examine the writing on the bottle.

“ _Why_ are you taking these?” he demands. “You don’t think I’ve noticed you’ve been on them for the past few weeks?”

“What? Are you _spying_ on me?” and when he continues to scowl at her, she stubbornly retorts, “It doesn’t concern you.”

“You’re my employee, and therefore a concern. Are you struggling?”

“No.”

“If I’m giving you too much, just tell me.”

“No!”

Ben’s eyes narrow. “Watch your tone.”

Rey feels her anxiety creeping up, her body already trying to step back. “I—I just have a lot on my mind. Didn’t mean to shout.”

“We’re not done yet. _Sit down_.” And he grips her shoulder, pushing her back onto his chair. She knows he’s observing her closely. The way she seems breathless and uneasy, and she feels his palm on hers, his fingers delicately pressing on the inside of her wrist. “Why’s your pulse like this?” and he sweeps a hand to her forehead. “Are you sick?”

“I’m fine,” she dismisses him again, but her heart races further as gently lifts her chin.

“You can’t hide, Rey,” his voice quieter this time. "Not from me.”

Her eyes must have glistened because his thumb reaches to smooth away the tiny tears that are prickling from the corner of her lids. He gets down on a knee, leaning towards her as his fingers lace through hers comfortingly. “I want a simple yes or a no. Is this about work?”

“No.”

“Do you want to tell me about it?” and when she shakes her head, his aggravation grows. “Will you tell me about it _later_?”

“It’s none of your fucking business, Ben!” she exclaims.

“ _Rey_ —” he warns, his voice taking a threatening edge now.

“Why does it matter to you? This is not about work, so why do you give a shit?”

Something immediately _snaps_ through the atmosphere between them. “Because you’re _mine_!” Ben snarls with incredible vehemence. “And whatever belongs to me, I want to know _everything_. I want to own every happiness. Every fear, every pain, every sadness and possess your entire fucking existence!”

Rey’s heart palpitates. She can’t believe what she’s hearing—

But he’s relentless. “Get it now? Is that a _good enough_ answer for you?”

“You don’t own me,” she says. “I’m just a girl who works for you, remember? And you give me some extra on the side to bind me like a little slave.”

His chilling tone crawls up her spine. “If you knew all the ways where I’ve imagined you as my _slave_ , you wouldn’t have said that.”

She looks away angrily, refusing to let him unhinge her. “You never wanted me. I’m not your girl.”

He glares at her before expressing flatly, “The day we had our agreement, I thought you made it clear you weren’t interested in me,” and the corners of his mouth curl slightly. “Or am I mistaken?”

She shrinks back from his bluntness, incapable of confronting what he’s deliberately implying. “You have enough at your disposal. I’m not one of your _stupid_ man-child distractions.”

“Rey, for _fuck_ sake—What. Do. You. Want? My commitment? Want me to be your fucking boyfriend, is that it? See you every day and take you out to places you wanna go? You know I’ll never say no to you,” and he leans in, breathing words so deliciously filthy. “Just get on all fours and ask me nicely.”

Her body’s on fire, trembling in delirium with one-half of her mind wanting to fuck him senseless while the other-half needing to slap the hell out of him. Though…the _latter_ sounds more plausible. “Shut up! I don’t care about your goddamn fuckboy hobbies!”

“So, you’re saying you don’t give a shit about what I do or who I fuck, huh?” and when Rey tries to wriggle her hands from his grasp, his grip tightens. “You’re not going anywhere. _Answer me_ when I’m talking to you.”

“I’m not your fucking whore. You can pay me all you want, but I’m not for your damn beck and call. Using me as and when you want some _fun_.”

Ben exhales furiously. “What the _fu_ —you think that’s what this is?”

“Isn’t it?” Rey’s almost shouting again. “Isn’t that why you kissed me and left that night? Always proving you can have anything or anyone!” And her lip quivers slightly. “You’ve treated me like a fucking toy. You love that, don’t you? Showing me that I’m _nothing_ to you!”

And that statement seems to affect him, because he finally rears back, releasing her wrists. She seizes this opportunity to spring up, grabbing her bag and bolting straight for the door. But just as she tugs at the handle, Ben catches up. His hand smashes down on the frame, slamming the door shut again, and she staggers back, her body knocking against him.

“ _Get out of my way_!” she snaps.

“And if I don’t?” his voice is low, but the tenor is lethal enough for her to know he’s lost all semblance of composure. “Then what?”

“Then I’ll scream.”

“Go ahead,” and his eyes turn disturbingly dark. “I’ll enjoy dealing with you after you’re done making a fucking scene as usual.”

She exhales sharply, her stance increasingly feral and defensive. But her eyes widen when his hands merely cup her cheeks, her entirety thrown into a tailspin as his thunderous expression rivets her immobile, but despite all that belligerent demeanour, there’s an unguarded vulnerability when he swallows. Almost like he’s bracing himself just before he tumbles off the ledge with her.

“But you’re so right, sweetheart. You come from nothing." He shakes his head, driving the point home. “You’re _nothing_ —” and just as her heart begins to break all over again, he hunches over, his lips at her ear to whisper his secret. "But not to me.”

Rey finds her self-control ramming straight into a brick wall. How fucking dare he continue to humiliate her right now? She feels the anger rise in her like a volcano on the brink of eruption. The furious tears spill out, her arms immediately flying up to yank his hands off her face. Ready to slap him if she has to. Or kick him in his fucking balls if she needs to, because she’s completely outraged, bitch be crazy and all that—

But something dangerous glints his gaze.

His fingers press firmly into her cheeks, and before she realises what's happening, his mouth crashes down onto hers. Uncompromisingly adamant and all-consuming in a scorching fire where she lets him devour her. Just two neutron stars magnificently colliding after orbiting one another too closely.

A beautiful, irrevocable, unsalvageable mess.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh, so sorry for the cliffy lovelies! Hope this gives you an understanding on how intense the “Misunderstandings and Confrontations” tag can go tho?
> 
> As always, your comments, thoughts and feedback on the fic or the chapter will be much appreciated 😘
> 
> Sources:  
> [Temmin Wexley](http://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Temmin_Wexley)  
> [Mon Mothma](http://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Mon_Mothma)  
> [What happens if two neutron stars collide?](http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-nearby-neutron-star-collision-could-cause-calamity-on-earth/) 🤔


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OMG ya’ll  
> I’ve just been gifted this amazing artwork of Ben and Rey by the brilliant [@lurkingshipper](http://twitter.com/lurkingshipper)! I mean, JUST LOOK AT IT!!! It’s perfect and I’m literally crying because of the expressions (Rey’s “Ugh go away!” and Ben’s smirk with his perfectly Adam-esque nose and his hand in his pocket as a throwback to Chapter 1 when he walks across the office floor). Rey is even carrying a set of keys for Ben’s office! And the outfits are a dream too! 💙💙💙
> 
>  **WARNINGS:** I’ve added Daddy Kink in the tags, but I honestly think it’s very light in this fic. It’s not something I’m strongly exploring, but there’ll be appearances here and there. Also, in continuation from last chapter, there’s some rough dub-con physical interaction here. 
> 
> Enjoy! 💕

* * *

It’s _nothing_ like the first kiss they shared.

This is punishing and savagely out of control. He holds her in a vice-like grip and when he bites down on her bottom lip, she gasps. An opportunity he takes to force his tongue into her mouth in the same brutal fashion he’s used to invade her life. She doesn’t know how he does it. How he makes her so responsive to him, her own tongue already weaving around his, and with every growing second her legs are threatening to give way.

“ _See_?” he sneers. “Your body already _knows_ —”

She whimpers when he snags her waist, inclining her so they can grind against each other. Their bodies slide and writhe in such a filthy, obscene manner. Almost like they’ve done this so many times before. The heat melts them and she feels the burn, their warm breaths touching every inch of their skin, and her centre aching so painfully with a need for him to just _take_ her now. Her mind’s already clawing for it, as if she feeds on his venomous traits too. _Yes, I want this._ _Him._ _Everything._

Despite being shamefully vocal together, there are no inhibitions between them any longer. With her pleasured gasps in cadence with his filthy, low groans, they are dangerously close in succumbing to _this_. Again—

But his weight becomes far too much, knocking them backwards to the wall, and she's winded from him crashing onto her.

“ _Ben_ —” she wheezes hoarsely. Her arms instinctively try to shove him off so she can breathe, but it only frustrates him further, seizing both her wrists. He pins them above her head, his entire frame caging her against the wall, wedging a knee between her thighs to lock her down.

No escape.

He moves quickly. _So_ quickly that before she can react, he’s leaned into her throat to suck down _hard_. She cries out again, her neck twisting against the wall as he rolls her skin between his teeth. Her eyes widen when he clasps a hand firmly over her mouth, silencing her. Rey finally let’s go, feeling herself liquify into his embrace. He must have sensed her conceding because he releases her wrists, allowing her fingers to thread through his hair. She hazily stares into the distance, the room echoing with sounds of her incoherent moans that are muffled by his palm.

It’s like a relief she never knew she needed. Like she’s been waiting for him to snap and finally have his way with her. _You should know by now that he can take whatever he wants._ He had told her that once, hadn’t he? And now the realisation sinks in. An enunciation of the possibility that maybe he _does_ want her too. Just as she wants him. Her breath falls into a deep, steady rhythm of satisfaction as he leaves a wicked trace of their passionate ferocity on her neck.

It could have been minutes. It could have been hours. It could have been _days_. It’s no surprise that she loses all awareness when she’s with him.

At last, he raises his head, pressing his forehead to hers, breathless as his tone softens. “I’m sorry. I just—” and with palms on either side of her face, his thumbs stroke her cheeks. “Didn’t mean to be so...” but he shakes his head instead. “Can I still hold you?” And when she nods, he swipes away the wetness from the corner of her eyes. “You don’t remember what I said? I’m different when I’m interested, and I’ve always wanted…” and he trails off as he sighs. “It's just _us_ now. Denying this won’t make it go away.”

She gives another mild nod, a small indication of her capitulation. “I’m sorry too…”

There’s a fleeting smile from him before he kisses her again. “And I don’t wanna see you going on fucking dates with anyone else,” he growls. “ _Ever_ again.”

She actually laughs, shaking her head at his childlike possessiveness.

They exchange a few more kisses before he says, “You understand that because of my position here, I’ll need to notify HR that I’m seeing an employee?”

“Oh…” and she stares at his buttons instead. “Is…is that going to be…?”

“The company policy only states you can’t have a spouse in the same division as you. Conflict of interest issues. Before we even _consider_ getting married, I’d like to make sure you’re in love with me first.” And he smirks just a little _too_ handsomely at the joke. 

Rey hates that her pulse excites so easily. “But what if—”

“You can tell whoever you want. I don’t care. But after HR’s aware, _everyone_ will know. Besides—” he chuckles sardonically, “—we wouldn’t be the _first_ to have a relationship here, would we? You think I don’t know that Dameron’s seeing that friend of yours? Nothing here stays a secret.” And he leans in again, his nose nudging at hers while circling her waist with more tenderness this time—

“You’ve always been my girl, Rey.”

***

They leave office _together_ for the first time.

In the car, Ben pulls her over his lap. She blushes in the darkness, conscious of Artoo’s presence with them even though he’s thoughtful enough to ensure his eyes never look their way.

It’s like Ben was possessed before, because he holds her face kindly now, grazing his lips on her forehead. He doesn’t let go of her, persistently lacing their fingers together. He doesn’t break from trailing his mouth over her skin until she’s flushed all over. He doesn’t stop nuzzling his face into the valley of her breast and being drunk on her scent. His hands constantly wrap around her back to press them against one another, and she feels tiny in his arms, all while he continues to indulge on her sweet mouth. His eyes darken when he traces a digit along the mark on her neck, a distinct outline of his mouth.

In one instance, he curiously lifts her palm, the pads of his index and thumb circling around each of her fingers. His eyes narrow, clearly deep in thought.

“What are you doing?” she asks.

He clicks his tongue before kissing the tip of her nose. “Nothing. Just thinking what pretty hands you have.”

He walks her all the way up to her apartment door and croons into the crown of her hair, “Sweet dreams.” And when he kisses her for the final time tonight, she holds back every instinct to pull him to her bedroom, because she knows he’s fighting his own reflexes to invite himself in. If they’ve already waited this long; a little more wouldn’t hurt.

Rey goes into her routine where she strips off her clothes to take a shower, brushes her teeth and gets ready to crawl into bed. Tonight however, she pauses a little longer in front of the mirror, her fingers touching the distinctive spot on her neck again; still intensely red, but will eventually deepen to a purplish hue. An aftermath left behind to remind her how aggressively he’s going to have her.

And in that brief moment, Rey feels the shadows in her mind temporarily retreat back into the corners once more. 

* * *

“Earth to Rey,” she hears Finn’s voice echoing in the background.

“Hmm?” Rey looks at him.

“You listening?”

“Yeah, you want the numbers to be reviewed again. And check through accounts from the last six months to tally the ones in the report.”

“Huh,” Finn responds, tapping his pen against the table. “Anyway, you doing okay? Feel like something’s been bothering you lately.”

“Really?” Rey shrugs. “I feel fine. Just a little exhausted.”

“Workload going alright?”

“Manageable. Nothing I can’t handle.”

“Maybe you should think about taking some time off. A break, maybe?” Finn suggests. “Since you joined, you’ve been running a fucking marathon.”

“All good,” she dismisses him and tries to change the subject. “Soooooo…I heard the annual dinner is happening soon. Sounds exciting."

“I’m not on the committee this year, but it’s just the standard black-tie this round. Didn’t you read the circulation that went out?”

Rey grimaces. “Contract employees are not expected to go, right?”

“Nice try. Sorry to say, but it's compulsory for _all_ employees to attend.” And Finn tilts his head slightly. “All cool with the personal front?”

“Meaning?”

“Well, there’s been a rumour going around…” and Finn scratches his nape awkwardly.

Rey _knows_ Finn’s referring to Ben. A few days after he spoke to HR, an email appeared in her inbox.

> From: Benjamin Organa-Skywalker Solo [benjamin.solo@hpgroup]
> 
> To: Rey Ridley [rey.ridley@hpgroup]
> 
> **Subject: Discussion with Amilyn**
> 
> _Dear Miss Ridley,_
> 
> _The only consideration is that professionalism is to be maintained within the office vicinity and company events. There is no other regulation or policy disallowing us to move forward._
> 
> _Please note that your job application for Director Ackbar’s division has been reopened._
> 
> _Let me know if you don’t hear from HR by next month._
> 
> Warm regards,
> 
> **BENJAMIN SOLO**
> 
> **Director | Corporate Restructuring, Mergers & Acquisitions **

It’s been two weeks since their explosive showdown in his office, and as the days went by, she’s becoming conscious of a shift in the atmosphere. She doesn’t know what Ben said to Amilyn, or what happened after, but there’s undoubtedly something different in the mannerisms of those around her. Almost like a newfound _wariness_.

In her defence, she did her very best to use every drop of available foundation and concealer to cover Ben’s glorious discolouration on her. But cosmetics can only do so much. The mark did hurt, but she knows there are _far_ more painful things in life, and _this_ wasn’t one of them.

She glances to the corner of her desk at an empty takeaway coffee cup. Ben’s completely memorised her preferences, ensuring that Mitaka will deliver her daily joe to her table by the time she came in. And on the cup, the same note will always be scrawled across in his perfect handwriting—

He’s always had a cunning streak, knowing exactly how to turn her words into an instrument to make her surrender. He offered to start picking her to and from office, but she vehemently refused, unwilling to change up her entire routine for him _just_ yet. In all her pettiness, she still wants him work a little harder after all the shit they’ve been through. But she feels apprehensive, unsure if she’s ready to fall deeper into that unknown, because there’s no going back once they do.

A point of no return.

Maybe it’s already too late.

Life’s strangely given her additional time, as with the growing number of projects and meetings he’s been dragged into, alone time together never seem to overlap. In the last two weekends, he was out of the city. Today will be the first day she’ll see him in office again. Lately, whenever she looks at Kaydel, she feels a little flustered, knowing she’s doing the exact thing she said she’d _never_ do. Benjamin _fucking_ Solo has made himself her boyfriend. No more rebelling. No more hiding. No more running.

He wins.

Her eyes flick up to see Ben walking across the department floor with Pryde and Hux. Her pulse quickens, accepting she’ll never get used to seeing him without feeling a rush of disarrayed emotions. She nibbles her lip before responding to Finn, “Everything’s fine.”

“Think you should head home earlier today. We're pretty much done with this.”

“Might do that. Thanks, Finn.”

“Just a heads up. Heard some news from Poe. Apparently, management committee is uplifting the suspension on your application.” And he grins enthusiastically. “Isn’t that great? You’re _finally_ gonna be one of us and get that pay rise!”

Rey clears her throat and smiles faintly. There are days where her secrets have the tendency to make her feel lonely. Isolated. But she’s beyond trying to make sense of that now.

“If any of the gossip is real, I _must_ say—never realised you’d be into guys like him.” And he continues with a snicker, “Tall, buff and scary with zero ability for normal social interactions.”

Her gaze tails Ben as he saunters to his office. _Maybe he was always my type_ , she thinks. _And I just didn’t know it then._

* * *

It’s a rare day when Rey makes it home before sunset. Entering her bedroom, she sees a text from _him_. She ruffles her hair nervously when she reads it. It’s like he’s everywhere and nowhere all at once. Sitting right next to her when she’s having conversations with others.

Listening in and picking apart her words.

_What the—_

And unsurprisingly, her face instantly colours. _Unbearable lunatic._ She rubs her thighs together to soothe the ache that’s unnecessarily building up.

Rey’s mouth is agape. _Fuck_ , she hadn’t given it a second thought when she sent that. It was supposed to mean something else, that he was nagging like a…

But not like…

Rey has always been a natural, wild woman.

A fighter’s blood pumping in her veins. It thrills her so much to taunt Ben. A fleeting, gleeful moment of taking a dig at him. She’s helpless in other aspects anyway, so she might as well poke the bear where she can.

_Well, shit._ Before she can think of a sharper reply, he calls her. There’s distant laughter in the background and she wonders what obligatory social he’s at now.

“No more jokes,” his tone is firm. “I’d really like for us to spend some time together. Pack for a weekend on the night of the dinner.”

Rey’s body is ablaze. “Do you mean—”

“Yes—” he cuts her off. “Yes, I mean _that_.”

A staycation with a suitcase in a hotel room can only mean one thing. It has always been inevitable—this inescapable pull between them is only ever going to lead to this, and if she’s learned anything from these recent shenanigans between them, Ben Solo and her are going to have sex. _Lots_ of it. And he doesn’t seem like he’ll want to be gentle _all_ the time. 

He’s already grumbling. “I want you for myself. You’ve any idea how long I’ve not seen you? I’ve snapped at more people in the last two weeks than in the last two months.”

“Poor, unsuspecting souls.”

“You don’t have to bring much. The agenda is fairly simple—” and she can _truly_ envision the smugness on his face, “—but I can’t say the same for the execution. That may require some…’ He pauses before murmuring, “ _Complex_ skills.”

Rey groans. “ _Ben_ —”

He chuckles. “You’re adorable. Be a good girl and drop your bag at the front desk before the event. I’ll sort out the suite under my name. They’ll manage the rest.”

Something unfamiliar creeps along her spine when she hears that. She’s never been called _that_ before, knowing she’s nowhere near it. But when Ben’s voice coos those words to her, the feral creature within her raises its head, challenging him to tame her. Her mind begins working through her silent acts of satisfying herself before bedtime. When her fingers start to work off images of him holding her down. Whispering all the things he’ll do to her. And now his voice will say—

 _Good girl_.

Rey licks her lips, her voice soft when she finally responds, “Yes, Ben. I’ll be your good girl.”

And she bites back a smile when she hears his breath hitch in surprise.

***

Rey's just come out from the shower when she hears Kaydel hollering from the kitchen, “Could you check who’s at the fucking door? My hands are _full_!” She hangs up her hair towel on the hook, making her way out to undo the chain and crack open the door. Her eyes widen when she sees the man standing outside.

“Artoo?”

“Good evening, Miss Ridley!” he greets.

She wrenches the entrance open and steps outside. “What are you doing here?”

“I have a delivery for you. Shall I come in, or are you happy to receive it here?”

“Err—” and she peeks behind her to check that Kaydel isn’t nearby. Her eyes fall to his arm, noticing he’s carrying a small, eggshell-blue paper bag. “Is it from…?”

“Yes, it's from Benjamin.”

“ _Oh_ , umm…I’m happy to take it here.”

He nods, handing it over to her. “Alright, that’s all from me. Have a good night!”

After Artoo leaves, she stands there frozen, glancing down at the item in her hand. From the iconic trademark printed on the front, she has a rough idea what this _probably_ is. She peers through the door, making sure Kaydel wasn’t looking before she sprints for her bedroom.

Settling on the bed, the tiny box is carefully removed from the bag before being set aside while she reads the note first.

> _Rey,_
> 
> _Should you still be unsure with how serious I am about you, this promise ring has been chosen to mark the beginning of us._
> 
> _In accordance to your style, this is delicate and unassuming enough for your daily wear. In college, girls were crazy about this brand. Not sure if it’s still the same, but nevertheless, trust you’ll find this acceptable for now._
> 
> _Yours,_
> 
> _Benjamin Solo_

The thrumming of the heartbeats in her ears are deafening as she unwraps the box, pulling at the pearl ribbons and lifting the lid. Her lips part when she sees the ring; a pale rose-gold band embellished with tiny diamonds while a stunning four-petal diamond flower is mounted at the centre. When she slips it on, she stares at it, quietly grasping how perfect he’s made the fit for her.

Like it was _always_ meant to be there.

It was just a matter of when.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PUT A RING ON IT SOLO! A break from all the intensity in the last chapters **until** things go into dark shit again...  
> As always, if you liked this, leave some love! Your comments and feedback about this chapter and fic will be much cherished 💕
> 
> Sources:  
> [Ring (sample)](http://www.tiffany.com/jewelry/rings/tiffany-victoria-ring-GRP08288/)
> 
>  **Some Updates**  
>  1) I’ve just done a one-shot slap-slap-kiss of light-angst, fluff, smut with a HEA. It’s where Rey & Ben are two strangers going on vacation who are forced to share one train cabin and one bed! Read it [here](http://archiveofourown.org/works/26637979). It’s really to cleanse my soul from all the shit that’s been happening lately. Would love you all to check it out if you’re interested. I promise you’ll like it xx
> 
> 2) Also, I’ll be working on a new 5-chapter much darker fic about a…villain (ish?) who meets and falls in love with a girl who works in his office. Zero-slow burn lol (do mind the very insane tags tho) for the whole of Halloween so a bit of delay for the next chapter for Sweet Dreams! Do subscribe to me for updates because I’d love to hear your comments/thoughts on it for those who do check it out! 🖤🖤🖤
> 
> Come find me on [Twitter](http://twitter.com/pocketsofdaisy) to see the stuff I’m working on, sneak peaks of chapters, random shit and just all round Reylo/Adam Driver thirst! 💕💕💕


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